J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

by · The Cerbat Gem

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Free Report) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,163 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,552 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at $102,604,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at about $7,421,000. Duality Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 73,434 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,578,000 after buying an additional 20,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.6% during the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 3,062,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,011,000 after buying an additional 134,046 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of KO traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.92. 11,138,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,253,075. The firm has a market cap of $288.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $55.10 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Read Our Latest Analysis on KO

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 319,005 shares of company stock valued at $22,198,147. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also