Utah Retirement Systems Purchases 1,500 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Utah Retirement Systems grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 644,106 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $40,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Owen LaRue LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Owen LaRue LLC now owns 10,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $417,000. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 17,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,359,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,188,000 after buying an additional 549,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $311.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.86 and its 200 day moving average is $66.53. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during 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%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.06.

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.