Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. Makes New $3.61 Million Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 56,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,611,000. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.7% of Cannon Financial Strategists Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth approximately $102,604,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 17,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,421,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after buying an additional 73,434 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $309.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.94. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.