Patten & Patten Inc. TN Sells 11,210 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Patten & Patten Inc. TN has **reduced its stake in CocaCola** by **5.1%** during the first quarter, now holding **210,348 shares** valued at approximately **$15 million**.
• CocaCola reported **$0.87 earnings per share** for the latest quarter, beating estimates, and announced a **quarterly dividend** of **$0.51** per share, indicating a **2.95% dividend yield**.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions in CocaCola, with **Arrowstreet Capital increasing its stake** by **22.8%** during the fourth quarter, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance.

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lowered its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,348 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,210 shares during the period. CocaCola comprises about 1.0% of Patten & Patten Inc. TN's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in CocaCola were worth $15,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $63,000. New Republic Capital LLC grew its position in CocaCola by 1.6% in the first quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in CocaCola by 16.0% in the first quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 134.5% in the 1st quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 149,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,708,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the period. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,669 shares of the company's stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.8%

CocaCola stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $68.23. 7,844,278 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,222,438. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 3.61 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. CocaCola's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insider Activity

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 value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.