Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 814,779 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,171,216 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 814,779 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.35% of Coca-Cola worth $894,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,883,000 after buying an additional 15,604 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,464,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,297,000 after buying an additional 43,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 113,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,661,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6 %

KO stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.26. 8,371,691 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,589,646. The firm's 50 day moving average is $60.50 and its 200 day moving average is $59.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $272.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.27.

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.

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