Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 761,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 535 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $48,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,928,441 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.96, for a total value of $1,253,987.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,507,516.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.