Montag & Caldwell LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Montag & Caldwell LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,057 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises 1.6% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Coca-Cola by 87.1% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 322,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,610,000 after purchasing an additional 150,050 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $482,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the second quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $71.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $307.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.