Voleon Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 40,357 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,513,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $500,192,000. Finally, 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 valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KO. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:KO opened at $72.56 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.58. The company has a market cap of $312.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

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.