Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Grows Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 931,768 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 140,092 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up 1.4% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $58,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 over the last 90 days. Company 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.