United Services Automobile Association Reduces Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

United Services Automobile Association decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,120 shares of the company's stock after selling 255,887 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and 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 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.1 %

KO stock traded up $0.78 on Thursday, hitting $70.80. 11,657,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,063,476. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $67.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.46.

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Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

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.