Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Sells 16,900 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,900 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,513,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,851,000 after purchasing an additional 204,681 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,767,000 after purchasing an additional 783,161 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 23,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $416,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.76 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $308.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.68.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.