Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 1,743,992 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,669,733 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,743,992 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up 3.6% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.36% of Coca-Cola worth $1,126,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 16,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 155,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,902 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.33.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,922,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,118,354. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $53.21 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.