Guggenheim Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Guggenheim Capital LLC decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,004,027 shares of the company's stock after selling 158,324 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 0.5% of Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $62,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rice Partnership LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,582,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company's stock worth $13,814,000 after acquiring an additional 132,701 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 893,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,610,000 after buying an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.99. The company had a trading volume of 20,745,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,409,159. The stock has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $59.00 and a 1 year high of $73.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a 200 day moving average of $66.42.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 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.