Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 22,442 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,360,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,442 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $80,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after buying an additional 1,949,500 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.22.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO remained flat at $61.74 during trading hours on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,994,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. 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 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.85. The company has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’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 owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 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.