First Manhattan CO. LLC. Has $54.80 Million Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 879,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267,402 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $54,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $71.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $306.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.64.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 402,081 shares of company stock valued at $28,654,426 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.