New York Life Investment Management LLC Buys 37,622 Shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 7.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 577,035 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,622 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $49,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,958,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,735,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,673 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,354,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,954,523,000 after purchasing an additional 162,097 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,053,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,361,198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,026 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,822,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,495,000 after purchasing an additional 235,785 shares during the period. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 15,272,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,223,000 after purchasing an additional 113,599 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola News Summary

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

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of KO stock opened at $96.94 on Wednesday. Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $67.27 and a 52-week high of $97.39. The stock has a market cap of $417.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.25 and a 200-day moving average of $82.93.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $13.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 62.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $88.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays increased 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. HSBC increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz Perez sold 67,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total transaction of $6,410,980.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,428 shares in the company, valued at $15,226,221.48. This trade represents a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,319.45. The trade was 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 a total of 249,498 shares of company stock worth $23,025,238 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.