Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,519,269 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,611,280 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.59% of Coca-Cola worth $1,588,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 24,989 shares of the company's stock worth $1,556,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 25,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 6,409 shares during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 15,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 70,225 shares of the company's stock worth $4,372,000 after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,475,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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 target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE KO traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.93. The company had a trading volume of 16,780,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,036,717. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company's fifty day moving average is $64.36 and its 200-day moving average is $66.50. 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 company has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

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.