Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 249,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $17,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,479,000 after purchasing an additional 177,241 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after buying an additional 1,417,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.33.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $3,981,938.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,074,330.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 376,096 shares of company stock valued at $25,982,352 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $69.57. The company had a trading volume of 8,786,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,216,886. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $52.43 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.39.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.