Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 44.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,398,838 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,140,591 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $87,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $1,582,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company's stock worth $13,814,000 after acquiring an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 893,192 shares of the company's stock worth $55,610,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KO. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.35. 19,983,755 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,331,502. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.36. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm'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 value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.