Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 37,953 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,396,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,953 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.06% of Coca-Cola worth $149,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 32,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,333,000 after acquiring an additional 8,837 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 193,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,937,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 20.5% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 26,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 39.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,765,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:KO opened at $68.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42. 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 capitalization of $296.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.