The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,650,610 shares of the company's stock after selling 104,594 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 0.5% of California State Teachers Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of Coca-Cola worth $414,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 17,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the 4th 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Coca-Cola by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,359,920 shares of the company's stock worth $209,188,000 after purchasing an additional 549,215 shares in the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $479,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.7 %

KO stock traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $71.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,017,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,425,875. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.