The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 62.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175,637 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,122,000 after buying an additional 46,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $69.59 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.03 and its 200-day moving average is $66.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $299.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.