The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Increased by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,807 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,835 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $62.39 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 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 the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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.