Bridges Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,201 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,698 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $3,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in CocaCola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in CocaCola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in CocaCola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in CocaCola by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.71.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.2%

KO traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $69.89. 12,910,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,309,945. The company's 50 day moving average is $70.90 and its 200-day moving average is $68.82. The company has a market cap of $300.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. CocaCola's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CocaCola 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.