The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,209,686 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,070 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for 4.2% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $74,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,448,000 after buying an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,028,000 after buying an additional 814,779 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,866,000 after buying an additional 378,447 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.00. 2,383,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,015,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.78.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

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.