Capital International Investors Purchases 12,222,885 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 96.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 0.58% of Coca-Cola worth $1,553,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.99 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $70.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $58.54 and a 52 week high of $73.95.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.

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