Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 765,803 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,379 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises 1.2% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $48,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nelson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the second quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 34,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.7% during the second quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 12,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 131.9% in the second quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 13,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 7,434 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 143,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 190.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.78.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,055,606 shares of company stock valued at $584,747,672. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.