The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,529,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bell Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 106.9% in the fourth quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 144,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,967,000 after buying an additional 74,419 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 214,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,329,000 after acquiring an additional 17,970 shares in the last quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 5,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 287.2% during the 4th quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 16,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 12,555 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $69.87 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.38. The company has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.