Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,186 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893,061 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,028,000 after purchasing an additional 814,779 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after purchasing an additional 378,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.05. The stock had a trading volume of 13,530,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,022,199. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $67.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $288.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.49.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The company 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%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 841,588 shares of company stock worth $568,972,027 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.25.

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.