Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,767,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275,756 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,043,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 163,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 565,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,214,000 after acquiring an additional 34,118 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. United Bank now owns 84,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.38. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.