Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $321.55 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 497.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,489,635 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,737,646 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 0.5% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.10% of Coca-Cola worth $321,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $311.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.38 and a 200 day moving average of $67.72. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio 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.