Rakuten Securities Inc. Sells 1,838 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Rakuten Securities Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 40.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,838 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,513,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,851,000 after buying an additional 204,681 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,767,000 after buying an additional 783,161 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,224,000 after acquiring an additional 23,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $416,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KO. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $70.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $303.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.94. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

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.