Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 151,773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,492 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Elk River Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 8,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.18. 5,097,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,604,551. The company has a market cap of $272.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $63.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 389,279 shares of company stock valued at $23,771,458. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.