Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Decreases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,948,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 91,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $245,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.6 %

KO opened at $73.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $59.84 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $318.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.43.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.06.

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.