Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $6.57 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,362 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,479,000 after purchasing an additional 177,241 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after buying an additional 1,417,930 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 319,005 shares of company stock valued at $22,198,147. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $66.92 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.66 and a 200-day moving average of $66.06. The company has a market cap of $288.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $55.10 and a one year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.