Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 22,438 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,428,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company's stock worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company's stock worth $293,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,928,441 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cfra reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The stock's 50 day moving average is $69.69 and its 200-day moving average is $64.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. 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.

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