The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,206,612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 123,085 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $86,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:KO opened at $63.35 on Friday. 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 market cap of $272.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.47 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.