The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,613 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,560 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $18,383,000. Balentine LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after buying an additional 21,005 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $64.12 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.47 and a one year high of $73.53. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 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. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.