Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Purchases New Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 166,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,388,000. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.5% of Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations’ portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.02 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $301.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.