Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 31,649 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 370,657 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,649 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $26,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company's stock worth $2,463,373,000 after buying an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 177,241 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,793,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $847,468,000 after buying an additional 222,028 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Coca-Cola by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,310,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $532,558,000 after acquiring an additional 640,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,765,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,202,000 after purchasing an additional 542,531 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $63.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,562,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,164,770. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.47 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.51.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Coca-Cola's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

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.