AGF Management Ltd. Decreases Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

AGF Management Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,515 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,461 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company's stock worth $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,813,000 after buying an additional 31,979 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 7.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 109,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,837,000 after buying an additional 7,099 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in Coca-Cola by 150.4% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 9,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 5,727 shares during the period. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its position in Coca-Cola by 113.1% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 2,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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 objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.24.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.6 %

KO stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $305.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.

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