Wesleyan Assurance Society Has $8.20 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Wesleyan Assurance Society increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Merchants Corp increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 32,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Waypoint Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $222,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Coca-Cola by 69.3% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 60,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 24,670 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.6% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.9% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 42,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,710,000 after acquiring an additional 6,775 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.20.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.79. The stock had a trading volume of 11,834,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,990,292. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $70.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.74 and its 200 day moving average is $62.71. The stock has a market cap of $300.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,014,029 shares of company stock worth $581,682,074 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.