Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Acquires 195,889 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,144,704 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195,889 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $133,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $70.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.46. The stock has a market cap of $304.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, 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 given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.