The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by LS Investment Advisors LLC

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 496,164 shares of company stock valued at $35,671,587. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $307.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

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.