Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,123,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rice Partnership LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after acquiring an additional 132,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DZ Bank 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. 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. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.