Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 315,020 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 67.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,149 shares of the company's stock after selling 315,020 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $478,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.0% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,327 shares of the company's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 147.5% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 142,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,271,000 after buying an additional 85,189 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $72.04. The company had a trading volume of 4,042,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,642,502. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.95. The company has a market capitalization of $310.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $69.60 and its 200-day moving average is $66.32. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. 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 2.83%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.