Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 338,530 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,452 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $21,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in 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. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $269,382,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $71.00. 28,069,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,037,215. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.