Asset Dedication LLC Sells 9,854 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Asset Dedication LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,854 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $188,448,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $157,087,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 42.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,515,000 after buying an additional 1,866,348 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.33.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $70.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $52.84 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.