The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,747 shares during the quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after purchasing an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola 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 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5 %

KO stock opened at $71.20 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.51. The firm has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.