Candriam S.C.A. Sells 48,909 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 443,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,909 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $28,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,028,000 after acquiring an additional 814,779 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after acquiring an additional 378,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,074,910 shares of company stock valued at $585,972,318. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.73.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.56.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

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.