The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stake Boosted by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,262,310 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 174,175 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.08% of Coca-Cola worth $203,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KO. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. 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

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.69. 12,626,934 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,427,278. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The firm has a market cap of $308.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.