Rakuten Securities Inc. Purchases New Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Lawrence B lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.8% in the third quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.18.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $58.06. 11,236,839 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,953,850. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.52. The stock has a market cap of $250.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

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.