American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 702,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67,423 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $43,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 46.4% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $206,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,174,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,194,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,722,000 after buying an additional 364,526 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE KO opened at $70.80 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.46. 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 $304.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.