Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 20.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,876,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 481,609 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $134,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 47,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,425,000 after acquiring an additional 4,613 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $932,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 248.3% during the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 26,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 18,797 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,263,000. Finally, Meridian Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 30,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $63.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.52. The company has a market cap of $272.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The company 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.