The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,909,546 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,862 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $118,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Barclays lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $298.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.