The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,263 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,706 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after buying an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $61.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,631,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,883,409. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.91 and a 200-day moving average of $66.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $265.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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 net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.60.

About Coca-Cola

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.