USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases 23,208 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,104,114 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,208 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $68,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day moving average of $66.83. The company has a market cap of $309.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

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.