Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Stock Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 224,699 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,549 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.9% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $19,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 38.7% during the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Coca-Cola

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 Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 20,585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.62, for a total value of $1,968,337.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,354,814.60. This represents a 8.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 67,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total value 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 represents a 29.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners set a $95.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $96.94 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $67.27 and a 1 year high of $97.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.93. The firm 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. The firm had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.35%.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.