Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires 7,884 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,646 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,884 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of KO traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.14. 17,485,707 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,186,163. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.56. 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 company has a market cap of $306.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 on the stock. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,074,910 shares of company stock worth $585,972,318 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently 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.