Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $76.34 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,226,106 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135,000 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.8% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $76,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 27,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.9 %

KO stock opened at $71.37 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.71 and a 200-day moving average of $66.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.54%.

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.