The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by NCM Capital Management LLC

NCM Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,549 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. NCM Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.