California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 1,949,500 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 0.6% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.32% of Coca-Cola worth $813,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6 %

KO stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $60.55. 15,620,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,901,615. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $59.94 and its 200-day moving average is $58.61. The company has a market cap of $261.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.