GDS Wealth Management Sells 622 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

GDS Wealth Management decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 622 shares during the quarter. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in 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. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings 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.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $62.89. The stock had a trading volume of 9,111,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,826,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The stock has a market cap of $270.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.33.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

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.