Auxier Asset Management Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Auxier Asset Management reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 94,996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,866,000 after acquiring an additional 378,447 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,930 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $308.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.31. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.07.

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.