The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Trimmed by Spreng Capital Management Inc.

Spreng Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Spreng Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during 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. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on 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 Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $68.18 on Wednesday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.40 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 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.