Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 1,815,543 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,141,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,815,543 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 0.4% of Geode Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.12% of Coca-Cola worth $5,667,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 18,313,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,138,000 after buying an additional 550,582 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.9 %

KO stock opened at $71.69 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $67.95 and its 200-day moving average is $66.38. The firm has a market cap of $308.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. 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. Coca-Cola’s dividend 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.