River Global Investors LLP Sells 21,436 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

River Global Investors LLP lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 50.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,819 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,436 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company's stock worth $8,351,000 after purchasing an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,122,000 after buying an additional 46,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

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Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.00. 28,069,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,026,756. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.58.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KO. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.