Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,499 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.9% of Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after buying an additional 2,893,061 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Coca-Cola by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,028,000 after buying an additional 814,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after purchasing an additional 378,447 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $63.24 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.77 and a 200 day moving average of $60.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.36.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.