The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,767,586 shares of the company's stock after selling 275,756 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.39% of Coca-Cola worth $1,043,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.46. The stock had a trading volume of 14,561,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,938,548. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.39. 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 cap of $307.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. Company 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.