Versant Capital Management Inc Has $489,000 Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 61.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,804 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after buying an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,479,000 after buying an additional 177,241 shares during the period. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after buying an additional 378,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $69.01 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.15. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $52.11 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Five 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.07.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade 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 worth $25,982,352 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.