Sabal Trust CO Reduces Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Sabal Trust CO decreased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 443,661 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,376 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for 1.8% of Sabal Trust CO's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Sabal Trust CO's holdings in CocaCola were worth $31,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 18.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 21.9% during the fourth 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. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

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 transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.27.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.2%

KO stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $69.51. 14,436,893 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,017,310. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.38 and a 200-day moving average of $68.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $299.20 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.46.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.