Phoenix Financial Ltd. Cuts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 40,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,230 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $500,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.36.

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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on KO shares. TD Cowen upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.