Federated Hermes Inc. Has $275.10 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,418,589 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 675,135 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $275,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KO. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 18,313,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,138,000 after buying an additional 550,582 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.95. The firm has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.72 and a 200-day moving average of $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results 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, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. 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.