Natixis Has $84.43 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Natixis grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 897.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,356,125 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,220,150 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 0.5% of Natixis’ holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Natixis’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $84,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,116,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 2,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $412,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $59.00 and a twelve month high of $73.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.