Voya Investment Management LLC Purchases 64,543 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,856,433 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,543 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $177,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $73.32 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.65 and a 200-day moving average of $66.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $59.84 and a 52-week high of $74.38. 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 $315.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.06.

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.