USS Investment Management Ltd Acquires 23,208 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,104,114 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,208 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $68,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2%

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.89 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.83. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $309.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.