Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,699 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,549 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.9% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $19,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. AMG National Trust Bank grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 131,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,286,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,096,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,381,000 after acquiring an additional 7,312 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 64,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 13,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 577,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,671,000 after acquiring an additional 37,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of KO stock opened at $96.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.28. Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $67.27 and a fifty-two week high of $97.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The firm had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 62.35%.

Coca-Cola News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s push into functional beverages is gaining traction, with fairlife, Powerade and smartwater growth, alongside innovation and capacity expansion, offering potential avenues for growth. Can Coca-Cola Benefit From Rising Demand for Functional Drinks?
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles emphasize KO’s durable brands and its 64-year record of dividend increases, reinforcing its appeal to long-term income investors. One report also notes Berkshire Hathaway receives about $848 million annually in dividends from its Coca-Cola investment. Coca-Cola’s Dividend Has Grown 64 Years in a Row Warren Buffett’s Coca-Cola Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola India is advancing draft papers for an IPO. The report does not specify how the offering could affect KO financially. Coca-Cola India IPO moves forward with draft papers
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Nancy Quan sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards and retained a substantial stake, making the transaction less informative as a signal about her outlook. Coca-Cola EVP Nancy Quan Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary cautions that KO’s share-price gains have outpaced revisions to its earnings outlook, raising valuation concerns. Higher real Treasury yields and competing bond yields could also make dividend stocks less attractive to some investors. Coca-Cola Stock Keeps Setting Records Treasuries Now Offer 2.66% Above Inflation

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $4,519,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,186,798.70. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Beatriz Perez sold 67,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total transaction of $6,410,980.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,226,221.48. This represents a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.