National Pension Service Acquires 122,533 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

National Pension Service grew its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,301,967 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 122,533 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of Coca-Cola worth $371,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $62.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,179,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,760,701. The stock has a market cap of $271.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.32 and a 200 day moving average of $59.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.25.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 380,405 shares of company stock valued at $23,209,645. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Coca-Cola

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.