The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC boosted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,074 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,761 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp raised its position in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.42. The company has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola 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 transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.