Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Has $4.15 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,728 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average is $66.42. The firm has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $59.00 and a 52-week high of $73.95.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.90% 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.