Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 67,642 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,710,892 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,642 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $122,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company's stock worth $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company's stock worth $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company's stock worth $1,041,479,000 after purchasing an additional 177,241 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $638,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,930 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,087,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,165,565. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.70 and a 200 day moving average of $65.72. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $53.86 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Cfra reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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