Paragon Financial Partners Inc. Sells 217 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Paragon Financial Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

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

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $61.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $266.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.44. 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 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.13.

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.