The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s Largest Position

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,325,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,507 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 4.0% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $78,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,672,479,000 after acquiring an additional 57,678,466 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,937,315,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

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 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 directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.17. The stock had a trading volume of 20,769,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,878,950. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.56.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

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.