Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Invests $4.12 Million in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 66,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,122,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,284,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,466,000 after acquiring an additional 357,038 shares during the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 201.2% during the fourth quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 29,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 205,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,799,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.52 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $307.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.