Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Acquires 846,702 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 37.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,088,135 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 846,702 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $221,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

KO stock opened at $64.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.07 and a 200 day moving average of $66.56. The firm has a market cap of $276.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.47 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.