Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 2,404 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,156 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 47,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at $1,253,000. Callan Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 5,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Team Hewins LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 16,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’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 value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 203,748 shares of company stock worth $14,274,431. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of KO traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.91. 885,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,188,194. 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’s 50 day moving average is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.41. The company has a market capitalization of $279.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $56.06 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola 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.