Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,187 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,012 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 21,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,399,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.2% in the second quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 40,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% in the second quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 21,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,753,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,581,000 after purchasing an additional 50,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 822,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,323,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:KO opened at $71.64 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.37. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 currently 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.07.

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.