Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,229 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 459,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,083,000 after purchasing an additional 30,277 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 719,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,394,000 after purchasing an additional 137,459 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 358.4% during the 4th quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 80,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,716,000 after buying an additional 12,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.51. The company had a trading volume of 13,784,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,817,021. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.18.

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.