New England Research & Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

New England Research & Management Inc. lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 611 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 1.4% of New England Research & Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Elk River Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $63.65 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $274.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.