Capital International Sarl Has $1.72 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Capital International Sarl boosted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 420.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,663 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,349 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $500,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average is $66.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $59.00 and a 1-year high of $73.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $74.59.

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.