GTS Securities LLC Lowers Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

GTS Securities LLC cut its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 70.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,384 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,014 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank 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 Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $71.81 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $71.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.98. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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