Raymond James & Associates Buys 265,172 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,510,503 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265,172 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $467,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 80,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $269,000. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 70,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,336,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 4,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.1% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 1,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.54 on Friday, reaching $70.44. The stock had a trading volume of 15,087,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,165,565. The company has a market capitalization of $303.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.72. 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 $53.86 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 in the last 90 days. 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.