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

Yacktman Asset Management LP lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,591,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,783 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises 1.4% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned 0.06% of Coca-Cola worth $152,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 213.8% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.9% during the third quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 40,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.0% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Finally, Kessler Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.83. 5,879,901 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,929,245. The company has a market cap of $266.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.76. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.22.

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.