Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,089,351 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,550 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $130,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during 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 buying an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $71.52. The company had a trading volume of 7,874,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,933,514. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $307.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.