Korea Investment CORP Purchases 128,896 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,545,211 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,896 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises 0.5% of Korea Investment CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of Coca-Cola worth $220,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in 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 valued at $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $70.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $301.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.45 and a 200-day moving average of $66.43.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.