Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 49.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,363 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,058 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,808,056,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 199,389 shares of company stock valued at $12,322,179 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:KO opened at $62.00 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $63.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $267.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.58.

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.