The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s Largest Position

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,338,967 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,737 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises 3.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $96,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $102,604,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,421,000. Duality Advisers LP raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after buying an additional 73,434 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,578,000 after buying an additional 20,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 11.6% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 226,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,013,000 after buying an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.52 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $303.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $53.21 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.