The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Ashburton Jersey Ltd grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 904.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 117,769 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,043 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up 3.2% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 154,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,102,000 after purchasing an additional 88,929 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after buying an additional 5,223 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 22.9% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 120,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,674,000 after buying an additional 22,515 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank 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 Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. Company 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.