American Century Companies Inc. Sells 264,584 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 26.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 733,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264,584 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $46,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the first 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,928,441 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after buying an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $72.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $310.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on KO. Citigroup lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.07.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.96, for a total value of $1,253,987.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,507,516.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.