The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Position Trimmed by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,107,313 shares of the company's stock after selling 947,796 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.16% of Coca-Cola worth $442,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

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Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business'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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,515,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,237,953. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95. 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's 50 day moving average is $69.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.36. The stock has a market cap of $304.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.