The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 59.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,652 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,518 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.76. 17,877,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,543,682. The company has a market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 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. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $62.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.40.

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

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.