Highland Capital Management LLC Buys 29,675 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,995 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,675 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock worth $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $269,382,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,104,000 after buying an additional 2,443,612 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.4 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,209,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,108,944. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.38. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $274.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.