The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 222.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,237 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock worth $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $269,382,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock worth $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company's stock worth $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Cfra reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.84. 17,072,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,849,868. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.47 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $275.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 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.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

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

About Coca-Cola

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.