Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Grows Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 931,768 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140,092 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 1.4% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $58,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $269,382,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.52. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $310.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.