Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Has $17.55 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 91.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,896 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,851,837 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $17,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.70 on Wednesday, hitting $72.42. 15,017,468 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,440,375. The company has a market capitalization of $311.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $70.94 and its 200 day moving average is $66.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Coca-Cola 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.