The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s Largest Position

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,338,967 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,737 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 3.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $96,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,479,000 after purchasing an additional 177,241 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,930 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $70.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $53.21 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 in the last quarter. 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.