First Horizon Advisors Inc. Purchases 8,491 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 189,110 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,491 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 439,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,582,000 after purchasing an additional 46,011 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 559,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,192,000 after buying an additional 287,167 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 176,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,716,000 after buying an additional 14,851 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 180,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,949,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 484,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:KO opened at $62.58 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $56.96 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.55. The firm has a market cap of $269.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. 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 issued 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 business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 8.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244. Company 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.