Whittier Trust Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,436 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,287 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $13,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock worth $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 19,102 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,843 shares of the company's stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 3,426 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $718,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.71.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.02. The company had a trading volume of 10,043,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,371,469. 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 Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $301.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.73 and a 200-day moving average of $69.01.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

CocaCola 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.