Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 21,945 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 270,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,945 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $19,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,678,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 134,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,666,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,122,000 after buying an additional 46,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.3% in the third quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 51,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,702,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value 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 $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $61.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.63 and its 200 day moving average is $66.48. The stock has a market cap of $265.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $56.70 and a one year high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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 $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on KO. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

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.