JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,480 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $2,513,000. Rice Partnership LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $1,582,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 10,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE KO opened at $70.62 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Coca-Cola Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.