Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,048,896 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 58,684 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Coca-Cola worth $179,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 8,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.22.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO remained flat at $61.74 on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,994,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.82. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.69. The stock has a market cap of $266.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

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.