Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys New Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,244,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,017,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.08% of Coca-Cola at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 284,469 shares of company stock valued at $20,356,667 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.73. The company had a trading volume of 10,658,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,711,147. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $71.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.08. The company has a market capitalization of $308.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $11.13 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.