The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933,527 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.4 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.62. 9,792,168 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,919,606. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The firm has a market cap of $269.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.