7,973 Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Acquired by Bolthouse Investments LLC

Bolthouse Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $72.43. 6,882,022 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,344,799. The firm has a market cap of $311.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Coca-Cola's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.