The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Lifted by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 120,658 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,664 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after buying an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $61.41. 12,176,085 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,932,138. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.02 and a 200 day moving average of $58.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

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.