Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Free Report) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,785 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 68.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $71.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.
Get Our Latest Report on Coca-Cola
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total value of $3,133,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,984,378.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,984,378.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 92,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.09, for a total transaction of $5,345,964.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,707,497.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 411,422 shares of company stock worth $24,424,662 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.
Coca-Cola Stock Performance
NYSE KO traded up $0.39 on Friday, hitting $54.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,461,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,424,178. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $236.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.37.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.74 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.
Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.72%.
Coca-Cola Profile
(Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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