Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO – Free Report) by 10.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 391,754 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,621 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $33,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 38.7% in the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Coca-Cola News
Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s push into functional beverages is gaining traction, with fairlife, Powerade and smartwater growth, alongside innovation and capacity expansion, offering potential avenues for growth. Can Coca-Cola Benefit From Rising Demand for Functional Drinks?
- Positive Sentiment: Several articles emphasize KO’s durable brands and its 64-year record of dividend increases, reinforcing its appeal to long-term income investors. One report also notes Berkshire Hathaway receives about $848 million annually in dividends from its Coca-Cola investment. Coca-Cola’s Dividend Has Grown 64 Years in a Row Warren Buffett’s Coca-Cola Investment
- Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola India is advancing draft papers for an IPO. The report does not specify how the offering could affect KO financially. Coca-Cola India IPO moves forward with draft papers
- Neutral Sentiment: EVP Nancy Quan sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards and retained a substantial stake, making the transaction less informative as a signal about her outlook. Coca-Cola EVP Nancy Quan Sells Shares
- Negative Sentiment: Some commentary cautions that KO’s share-price gains have outpaced revisions to its earnings outlook, raising valuation concerns. Higher real Treasury yields and competing bond yields could also make dividend stocks less attractive to some investors. Coca-Cola Stock Keeps Setting Records Treasuries Now Offer 2.66% Above Inflation
Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola
In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $4,519,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,186,798.70. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,319.45. This trade represents a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.
Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.9%
Coca-Cola stock opened at $96.94 on Wednesday. Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $67.27 and a 1 year high of $97.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $417.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.28.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 62.35%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Freedom Broker raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $83.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.26.
About Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands. The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.
Further Reading
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