Harmony Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Harmony Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 81.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,920 shares during the period. Harmony Asset Management LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.89. The company had a trading volume of 12,910,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,309,945. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The firm has a market cap of $300.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $70.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 81.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.71.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.