The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,507 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.6% of Empirical Finance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 21,005 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.4% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after acquiring an additional 31,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $769,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $62.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $56.70 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,150,619.18. This represents a 35.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.