The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 244,180 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $17,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $188,448,000. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $157,087,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake 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 worth $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $67.15. 1,510,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,196,647. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.11. The firm has a market cap of $289.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $55.42 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 319,005 shares of company stock worth $22,198,147. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

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.