Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,284,521 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 357,038 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.08% of Coca-Cola worth $220,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank 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 Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.00. 28,069,766 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,037,215. 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 company has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.58.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.