The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,946 shares of the company’s stock after selling 669 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $643,000 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 stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,479,000 after purchasing an additional 177,241 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on KO. Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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 target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $69.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.87. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $54.04 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.