NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Sells 11,000 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of KO opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.52.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.