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

Ballast Inc. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,448,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $157,087,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 42.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,515,000 after buying an additional 1,866,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

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

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.0 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.65. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $53.86 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

About Coca-Cola

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.