Ally Financial Inc. Takes $5.79 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 93,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $500,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of KO opened at $71.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $308.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $73.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.