Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Raises Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,027,396 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,948 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $145,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $18,383,000. Balentine LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 46,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 21,005 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % 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. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $63.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.47 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $271.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

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.