The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Position Trimmed by New England Asset Management Inc.

New England Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 88,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,050 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.65. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.