Holderness Investments Co. Sells 655 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Holderness Investments Co. lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 655 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,866,000 after buying an additional 378,447 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $638,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,930 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $308.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. 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 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.34.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,398,603.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.07.

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.