Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,566,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 581,200 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 0.5% of Swiss National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Swiss National Bank owned 0.27% of Coca-Cola worth $720,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after buying an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $932,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 47,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after acquiring an additional 4,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $69.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KO. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola 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.