SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes $19.71 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 316,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,705,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.20 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.