Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,727,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,359,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,188,000 after purchasing an additional 549,215 shares during the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $150,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $479,000. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 6,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.96 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. 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%.

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.