Columbia Asset Management Sells 6,051 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Columbia Asset Management lowered its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,429 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,051 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company's stock worth $13,814,000 after buying an additional 132,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value 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 approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $3.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,507,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,059,440. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.72 and a 200-day moving average of $66.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.24.

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.