Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Boosts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,144,704 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 195,889 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $133,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,266,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $942,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,879 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $71.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,012,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,925,517. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.38. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $308.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.