Flossbach Von Storch AG Buys 74,348 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 960,848 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,348 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $56,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth about $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,255,000 after acquiring an additional 43,680 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 385.3% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,115,000 after acquiring an additional 301,804 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.51. The company had a trading volume of 13,784,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,817,021. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $252.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.94 and its 200 day moving average is $58.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.18.

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.