Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $19.39 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 269,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,724 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $19,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $102,604,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,421,000. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 73,434 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,578,000 after purchasing an additional 20,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 226,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price 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, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 376,096 shares of company stock valued at $25,982,352 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.7 %

KO stock opened at $69.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $297.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $52.11 and a twelve month high of $73.53. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $70.35 and a 200-day moving average of $65.15.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.