California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 321,276 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,702,286 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 321,276 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.27% of Coca-Cola worth $728,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company's stock worth $13,814,000 after buying an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE KO traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $71.69. 24,012,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,925,514. The stock has a market cap of $308.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 a positive change 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 is presently 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.