Norinchukin Bank The Increases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,098 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,601 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,116,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $412,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

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 fifty day simple moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42. 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 company has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.