Geode Capital Management LLC Has $5.67 Billion Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 91,141,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,815,543 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.4% of Geode Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,667,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 18,313,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,138,000 after acquiring an additional 550,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.9 %

KO stock opened at $71.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.95 and a 200-day moving average of $66.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 2.85%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Coca-Cola 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.