Financial Counselors Inc. Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 308,405 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,099 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $19,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $68.85 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $296.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.40.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.