Whittier Trust Co. Sells 5,619 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 193,496 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,619 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% during 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. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,448,000. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $157,087,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 42.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,348 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Five equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $3,981,938.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,074,330.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $69.53. 8,066,675 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,140,463. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.80. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $54.04 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $299.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.