The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 801,227 shares of the company's stock after selling 134,062 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $49,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $59.72 and a 52 week high of $73.95. The company's 50 day moving average is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.39. The company has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 valued at $22,263,071. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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