Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Lowers Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 49.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 161,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158,142 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 21,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.82. The stock had a trading volume of 5,363,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,062,152. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.48. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.60.

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.