Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $136.38 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,314,340 shares of the company’s stock after selling 488,961 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $136,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the third quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

KO stock opened at $61.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.