The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,551,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,388 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $91,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,963 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $813,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $61.74 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Coca-Cola 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.