Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 780 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 106,672 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $63.68 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.90 and a 200-day moving average of $66.43. The company has a market cap of $274.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $56.06 and a one year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.05%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This 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 worth $14,274,431. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.