LPL Financial LLC Buys 274,961 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,148,867 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 274,961 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Coca-Cola worth $298,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company's stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.36.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $63.92. 19,546,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,458,551. 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 cap of $275.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $67.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.47 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.