The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,063,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 551,868 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,934,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.36 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.38. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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 directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.