BLB&B Advisors LLC Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 38.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,921 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,110 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1,380.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 168,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,094,000 after buying an additional 156,929 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 35.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,319,000 after acquiring an additional 37,632 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 89.1% in the third quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 145,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,445,000 after acquiring an additional 68,507 shares in the last quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% during the third quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 24,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DeDora Capital Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total value of $3,981,938.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,074,330.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $54.04 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 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 $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Coca-Cola Profile

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.