The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 238.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,169 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,662 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of KO opened at $66.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $287.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.62 and a 200 day moving average of $66.17. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $55.42 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 319,005 shares of company stock worth $22,198,147 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.