Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $103.04 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,654,910 shares of the company's stock after selling 280,862 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $103,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on KO. DZ Bank upgraded 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $71.69. 4,205,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,685,948. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.08. The company has a market cap of $308.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Coca-Cola's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 284,469 shares of company stock valued at $20,356,667. Corporate 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.