QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,173 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,368 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $27,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,513,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,851,000 after purchasing an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,767,000 after purchasing an additional 783,161 shares during the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 23,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.94 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.56 and its 200 day moving average is $67.89. The company has a market capitalization of $305.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.