Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Stake Trimmed by VCI Wealth Management LLC

VCI Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 19.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,562 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,394 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,958,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,735,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,673 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,354,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,954,523,000 after purchasing an additional 162,097 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 9.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,053,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,361,198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,026 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,822,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,495,000 after purchasing an additional 235,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 15,272,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,223,000 after purchasing an additional 113,599 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Coca-Cola

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pricing power is supporting margins. Coca-Cola has been passing higher costs on to consumers as inflation persists, demonstrating the strength of its brands and helping protect profitability. Coca-Cola Is Exercising its Pricing Power as Inflation Persists
• Positive Sentiment: New distribution wins add growth potential. Coca-Cola’s agreement to supply beverages to approximately 3,600 U.S. KFC restaurants beginning in 2027 gives the company additional volume and visibility in an important food-service channel. What Coca-Cola Holders Saw Early
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results reinforce the defensive investment case. Coca-Cola delivered quarterly EPS of $0.91 versus an $0.88 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.2% year over year to $13.35 billion. Analysts and investors also point to strong free-cash-flow margins, geographic diversification and a capital-light model that supports continued dividend growth. Coca-Cola Delivers Strong Growth – But is KO Stock Undervalued?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation may limit near-term upside. KO trades at approximately 28 times expected earnings, well above UPS at about 15 times, although Coca-Cola offers greater stability and a long record of dividend increases. The premium valuation means further gains likely depend on continued volume growth, successful new contracts and sustained earnings execution. Coca-Cola vs. UPS

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $95.93 on Tuesday. Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $67.27 and a 1 year high of $96.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $412.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.20.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $861,367.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 62,105 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,082.50. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 171,323 shares of company stock valued at $15,507,286 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target (up from $83.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.26.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands.

The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.

The Coca-Cola Company serves consumers in more than 200 countries and territories through a system that includes company-operated operations, independent bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service providers.