The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,484,527 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 783,161 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 3.5% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd owned 0.24% of Coca-Cola worth $652,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.93. 16,780,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,036,717. The company has a market capitalization of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. 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 50 day moving average price of $64.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.50.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.