Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Cuts Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA trimmed its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 141,223 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,634 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $10,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $69.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $297.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.24.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.21.

CocaCola 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.