Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $15.89 Million in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 255,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,887,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 22,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 6,699 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 94,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 452,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,178,000 after purchasing an additional 13,084 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 6,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 6,045 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.