Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $2.81 Million in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 45,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,810,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $307.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.59.

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.