The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,739 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,885 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,255,000 after acquiring an additional 43,680 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 385.3% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,115,000 after acquiring an additional 301,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.4 %

KO stock traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,487,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,760,378. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

Coca-Cola 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.