The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,076 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $41,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 116,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,232,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,110,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,150,000 after purchasing an additional 97,659 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 11,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 21,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 18,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $70.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

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.