Foster Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,369 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933,527 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $193,342,000. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,074,910 shares of company stock valued at $585,972,318 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6 %

KO stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.47. 18,624,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,073,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $312.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $72.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.10.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.73.

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.