The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,237 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,326 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola 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 buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.59.

About Coca-Cola

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.

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