CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP lessened its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,239,624 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,181 shares during the period. CocaCola comprises 2.1% of Yacktman Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned about 0.05% of CocaCola worth $160,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

CocaCola Trading Down 1.0%

KO stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.53. The company had a trading volume of 33,690,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,278,739. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.