The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,644,921 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,027,823 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises 0.5% of National Pension Service’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. National Pension Service’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $538,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.3 %

KO opened at $71.54 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.44. 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 stock has a market cap of $308.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

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.