Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 140,909 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,600 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of KO opened at $64.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.56. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.47 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.