New England Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

New England Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,050 shares during the quarter. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.5%

KO opened at $69.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.65. 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 cap of $299.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

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.