The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group trimmed its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,380 shares during the quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 4,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,292 shares during the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $10,232,000. Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 3,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 47,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 3,436 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.95 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.87 and a 200-day moving average of $66.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $300.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 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.