Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Lowers Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,725 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,678,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 134,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 51,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,702,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:KO opened at $61.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $56.70 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.