Liberty Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,479,000 after purchasing an additional 177,241 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after buying an additional 1,417,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $54.04 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $3,981,938.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,074,330.17. 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.