QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $23.02 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,461 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $23,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.80 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.19 and a 200 day moving average of $66.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.