Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 0.9% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,617,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 95.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,872,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 947,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,428,000 after purchasing an additional 54,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,581,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,611,000 after purchasing an additional 104,323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.73 and a 200 day moving average of $66.52. The company has a market cap of $310.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.