Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Stake Lessened by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,540,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126,754 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 1.3% of King Luther Capital Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Coca-Cola worth $304,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $4,519,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,186,798.70. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 67,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total value of $6,410,980.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,226,221.48. This trade represents a 29.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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?
• 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
• Negative Sentiment: KO’s roughly 36% one-year rise has reduced its forward dividend yield to about 2.2%, and commentary cautions that the shares are not cheap. This could limit upside if earnings growth does not keep pace with the stock’s advance. Coca-Cola Stock Is Up 36% in a Year

Coca-Cola Price Performance

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

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 business had revenue of $13.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share 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 given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KO. UBS Group raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Freedom Broker increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Seaport Research Partners set a $95.00 target price on Coca-Cola in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.26.

Coca-Cola 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.