By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Free Report) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,005 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 1.8% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola
In other Coca-Cola news, 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 transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.60.
Read Our Latest Analysis on KO
Coca-Cola Stock Performance
NYSE KO opened at $61.68 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.48.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Coca-Cola Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.
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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