Korea Investment CORP Acquires 128,896 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,545,211 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 128,896 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up about 0.5% of Korea Investment CORP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $220,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $70.02 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.45 and a 200 day moving average of $66.43. 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 company has a market capitalization of $301.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola 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.