Essex Savings Bank Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Essex Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,520 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,940 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $36,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $58,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $61.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $265.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.60.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.