Patron Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Patron Partners LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 16.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $188,448,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $157,087,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,150,619.18. This represents a 0.00 % 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. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 203,748 shares of company stock worth $14,274,431. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KO. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.9 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $63.37 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.52. The stock has a market cap of $272.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $56.60 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

About Coca-Cola

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.