Gotham Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,220 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,482 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $69.50. 21,514,494 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,539,625. The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.65. The company has a market cap of $299.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.