Verity & Verity LLC Raises Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 59.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,652 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,518 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 268.6% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 20,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 15,204 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 15,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, LongView Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 49,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after buying an additional 5,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $62.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.41. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Company 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.