First City Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First City Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,069 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 3.5% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,866,000 after buying an additional 378,447 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in 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 period. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,930 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $3,981,938.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,074,330.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.64 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.34. The company has a market capitalization of $308.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.