Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Purchases 40,443 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 554,219 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,443 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $34,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company's stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.06.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:KO traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $72.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,878,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,405,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $59.84 and a 1 year high of $74.38.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm'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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.