The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Northeast Investment Management

Northeast Investment Management reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of KO stock opened at $72.36 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $71.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.72. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

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.