Magellan Asset Management Ltd Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,730 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,722 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth 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. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on KO. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded 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 Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

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Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $3.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.87. The company had a trading volume of 26,507,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,039,912. The company has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $68.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.95. 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 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%. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.