Lincoln Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Lincoln Capital LLC decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 707 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 1.2% of Lincoln Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Lincoln Capital LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,672,479,000 after acquiring an additional 57,678,466 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,937,315,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 79,101,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,031,669,000 after acquiring an additional 10,722,435 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 164.7% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,430,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,981,000 after acquiring an additional 8,979,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 61.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,764,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,373,000 after acquiring an additional 4,095,881 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,853,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,289,215. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.23. The firm has a market cap of $259.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. Coca-Cola’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. On average, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

About Coca-Cola

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.