Founders Capital Management Sells 1,708 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Founders Capital Management trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,312 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,708 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for 0.6% of Founders Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Founders Capital Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. FMR LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,565 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.9 %

KO stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $61.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,101,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,463,514. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.50. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.60.

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.