Heritage Investors Management Corp Cuts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Heritage Investors Management Corp reduced its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 262,258 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,994 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 203,748 shares of company stock valued at $14,274,431. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, reaching $64.91. 885,442 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,188,194. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $56.06 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.41. The stock has a market cap of $279.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.