Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Buys 2,085 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Schear Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 40.2% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 3,987 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.8% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,577,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,740,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,920,000 after acquiring an additional 207,951 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 35.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.3 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $61.74 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $56.70 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.51. 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 capitalization of $265.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. 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 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

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.