Lummis Asset Management LP Reduces Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Lummis Asset Management LP cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 1.2% of Lummis Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Lummis Asset Management LP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of KO opened at $62.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.41.

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

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.