Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Buys Shares of 166,845 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 166,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,388,000. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.5% of Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations’ holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,266,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,736,000 after buying an additional 1,792,879 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction 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 represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of KO opened at $70.02 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $67.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.43. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.