Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,244,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,017,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.08% of Coca-Cola at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35% 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, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value 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 approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $71.33. 5,183,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,655,468. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $307.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.23 and a 200 day moving average of $67.14.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. 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 company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.