Empowered Funds LLC Lowers Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 209,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,297 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $15,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $188,448,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $157,087,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 42.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $62.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.99 and its 200 day moving average is $66.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $56.70 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Finally, Barclays cut 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, October 25th. Four equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. 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.