29,083 Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238,610 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,083 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $20,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Advisor Resource Council boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the third quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 126,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,863,000 after purchasing an additional 9,147 shares in the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 49.5% during the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 14,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 4,673 shares in the last quarter. NBH Bank grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.4% during the third quarter. NBH Bank now owns 3,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 25,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 20,585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.62, for a total transaction of $1,968,337.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,354,814.60. This represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of KO stock opened at $97.59 on Thursday. Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $67.27 and a 12-month high of $97.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.28.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. The company had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 62.35%.

Key Coca-Cola News

Here’s some of the latest news about KO:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights momentum in functional beverages, including fairlife, Powerade and smartwater, as well as innovation and capacity expansion that could support growth. Can Coca-Cola Benefit From Rising Demand for Functional Drinks?
• Positive Sentiment: Articles point to KO’s durable business, strong free cash flow and 64-year dividend-growth streak. One recent comparison argues its 2.3% yield is supported by stronger business fundamentals than Kraft Heinz’s higher yield. Kraft Heinz Yields 6.6% and Coca-Cola Yields 2.3%
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO John Murphy is scheduled to present at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference on Dec. 2. The announcement provides an opportunity for investor updates but included no new financial guidance. Conference participation announcement

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KO shares. CICC Research boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy (a+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.