Northern Trust Corp Purchases 3,811,756 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.02% of Coca-Cola worth $2,727,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.96 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $70.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.48. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. 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 $309.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.06.

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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