Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,425,349 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,854,597 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.17% of Coca-Cola worth $462,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,745,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,409,159. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $59.00 and a 12-month high of $73.95. The company has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

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.