The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Searle & CO.

Searle & CO. raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 41.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,717 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,742 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after buying an additional 1,949,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value 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 is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.18.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.93. 16,725,559 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,085,787. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

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.