Centaurus Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Centaurus Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,372 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $269,382,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $188,448,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 42.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,348 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,792.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,744,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,202 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $63.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $275.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.47 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.79 and a 200 day moving average of $66.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.