Voya Investment Management LLC Purchases 64,543 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,856,433 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,543 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Coca-Cola worth $177,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.8 %

KO opened at $73.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $59.84 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.06.

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.

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