SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Purchases 629 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,520 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KO opened at $71.76 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $308.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.68. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned 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 $76.00.

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.