Norinchukin Bank The Boosts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,098 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,601 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,738,513 shares of the company's stock worth $108,240,000 after purchasing an additional 110,828 shares during the last quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC now owns 3,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 215,080 shares of the company's stock worth $13,391,000 after buying an additional 77,144 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock worth $588,871,000 after buying an additional 5,139,352 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,769,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,106,336,000 after buying an additional 2,284,429 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.99. 20,745,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,385,871. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $59.72 and a 12 month high of $73.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Coca-Cola 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.