Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Reduces Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 27.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,218 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,982 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.91 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.55. The stock had a trading volume of 19,515,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,970,071. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $265.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.72.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

About Coca-Cola

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.