The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2,983.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 121,728 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,780 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 218,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,628,000 after buying an additional 3,859 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 122,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,615,000 after acquiring an additional 17,263 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Slagle Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 86,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 8,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 72.8% during the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 26,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 11,025 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $70.36 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.45. The firm has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. 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 quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.