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

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 783,161 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 3.5% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd owned about 0.24% of Coca-Cola worth $652,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank raised 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.80 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $304.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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, 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, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.