Aviva PLC Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Aviva PLC increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,950,753 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,454 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.07% of Coca-Cola worth $183,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.87 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.