Vestcor Inc Buys 6,817 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,328 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,817 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $69.59 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 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 price of $66.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.63. The company has a market capitalization of $299.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.