Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 552.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 475,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 402,595 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 1.0% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $29,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th 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 period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of KO opened at $70.62 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.95 and its 200-day moving average is $66.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. 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 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.