Liberty Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during 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. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,479,000 after buying an additional 177,241 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in 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 valued at $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,344,000 after buying an additional 1,417,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $69.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $299.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.75 and a 200-day moving average of $65.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $54.04 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

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.