Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,769,958 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,284,429 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.41% of Coca-Cola worth $1,106,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $59.00 and a 52 week high of $73.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.