Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,411 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,482 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. FMR LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $269,382,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,765,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921,241 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.