The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 59.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,652 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,518 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $18,383,000. Balentine LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $61,122,000 after buying an additional 46,541 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $62.76 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.41. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.