Nordea Investment Management AB Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,263,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 538,445 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.17% of Coca-Cola worth $450,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 332,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 24,216 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 27,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth about $68,000. Kerusso Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth approximately $2,066,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.6% during the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $61.75 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $266.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.37 and its 200 day moving average is $66.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on KO shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.