Continuum Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

by · The Markets Daily

Continuum Advisory LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,778 shares of the company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of KO opened at $71.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.02 and its 200 day moving average is $66.89. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

View Our Latest Analysis on Coca-Cola

About Coca-Cola

(Free Report)

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.

See Also