Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 24.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,031,148 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200,512 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $74,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents 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. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,748 shares of company stock worth $14,274,431. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KO. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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 reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.92. 14,719,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,338,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $56.06 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.48. The company has a market cap of $275.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Coca-Cola 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.