Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 0.9% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.72% of Coca-Cola worth $4,617,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 95.2% in the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,872,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 947,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,428,000 after buying an additional 54,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,581,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,611,000 after buying an additional 104,323 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised 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. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $310.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.52.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost 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 2.82%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

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.