Focused Investors LLC Sells 18,800 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Focused Investors LLC cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,006,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,800 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up about 2.2% of Focused Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $72,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 43,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 13,675 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $733,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 19.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.2% during the first quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 19,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,561,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,562,000 after buying an additional 10,826 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $61.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $265.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $56.70 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.63 and a 200-day moving average of $66.51.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This trade represents a 35.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.36.

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.