Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 20,936 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 174.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 32,940 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,936 shares during the period. CocaCola makes up approximately 0.7% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after acquiring an additional 6,241,163 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the second quarter worth $3,846,270,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 6.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,889,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,212,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794,561 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in CocaCola by 1.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,281,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,930,170,000 after purchasing an additional 285,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 10.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,328,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,791,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497,585 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, Director Max R. Levchin bought 7,206 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.87 per share, with a total value of $503,483.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,835.29. The trade was a 102.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total value of $947,411.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. The trade was a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 225,252 shares of company stock worth $15,953,007 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.94 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.50 and its 200 day moving average is $69.36. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $300.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 27.34%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 67.55%.

CocaCola Profile

The Coca‑Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.