AIA Group Ltd Decreases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

AIA Group Ltd decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,328 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $308.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.