Sara Bay Financial Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sara Bay Financial raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,059 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,043,000 after buying an additional 4,928,441 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after buying an additional 2,973,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,509,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,283,498. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.15. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $52.11 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $297.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,398,603.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 376,096 shares of company stock valued at $25,982,352 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.