Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 332,413 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $20,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $71.54 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.44. The firm has a market cap of $308.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.