Allianz SE Acquires New Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 163,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,122,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the 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 quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

KO opened at $70.36 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.