Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 6,544 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 582,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,544 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 0.7% of Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $34,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 33,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 25,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,715,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,719,000 after purchasing an additional 710,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 181,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Henrique Braun sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total transaction of $3,614,357.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,309,555.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 446,577 shares of company stock valued at $27,385,816. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $62.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,784,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,501,326. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $63.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.76. The company has a market capitalization of $271.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

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.