Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Acquires New Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE KO traded up $0.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $64.07. 1,610,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,216,100. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $56.06 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $276.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.61.

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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,748 shares of company stock worth $14,274,431. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

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.