The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 216,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,461 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KO. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 170,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,612,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 48,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,030,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 20,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.