Stonegate Investment Group LLC Raises Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 235,468 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $16,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $188,448,000. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at $157,087,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,515,000 after buying an additional 1,866,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:KO traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $70.12. The stock had a trading volume of 4,456,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,111,867. The company has a market cap of $302.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.65. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $53.86 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.