Stevens Capital Management LP Decreases Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Stevens Capital Management LP lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,449 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,597 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 0.7% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,446,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in 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 worth $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO remained flat at $61.74 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,987,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,996,288. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.76. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.69. The company has a market cap of $266.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.22.

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.