The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Ashburton Jersey Ltd grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 904.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,769 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,043 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for 3.2% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 135.6% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 154,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,102,000 after purchasing an additional 88,929 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 22.9% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 120,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,674,000 after buying an additional 22,515 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Coca-Cola

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.