Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 146,089 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,619,580 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146,089 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Coca-Cola worth $412,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $228,000. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 22,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 409,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,400,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

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.