Amica Mutual Insurance Co. Cuts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,341 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,012 shares during the quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,565 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 18,313,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,138,000 after purchasing an additional 550,582 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $70.02 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.45 and its 200-day moving average is $66.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $301.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.