The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 783,161 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 3.5% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $652,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 39,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 5,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.0 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $304.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.