Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Shares Sold by Vestor Capital LLC

Vestor Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 99.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 326,803 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s push into functional beverages is gaining traction, with fairlife, Powerade and smartwater growth, alongside innovation and capacity expansion, offering potential avenues for growth. Can Coca-Cola Benefit From Rising Demand for Functional Drinks?
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles emphasize KO’s durable brands and its 64-year record of dividend increases, reinforcing its appeal to long-term income investors. One report also notes Berkshire Hathaway receives about $848 million annually in dividends from its Coca-Cola investment. Coca-Cola’s Dividend Has Grown 64 Years in a Row Warren Buffett’s Coca-Cola Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola India is advancing draft papers for an IPO. The report does not specify how the offering could affect KO financially. Coca-Cola India IPO moves forward with draft papers
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Nancy Quan sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards and retained a substantial stake, making the transaction less informative as a signal about her outlook. Coca-Cola EVP Nancy Quan Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary cautions that KO’s share-price gains have outpaced revisions to its earnings outlook, raising valuation concerns. Higher real Treasury yields and competing bond yields could also make dividend stocks less attractive to some investors. Coca-Cola Stock Keeps Setting Records Treasuries Now Offer 2.66% Above Inflation

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $88.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Coca-Cola from a “buy (a+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, CICC Research increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 67,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total value of $6,410,980.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,226,221.48. This represents a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total transaction of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,319.45. The trade was a 72.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $96.94 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $417.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.28. Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $67.27 and a 52-week high of $97.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. The company had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.35%.

Coca-Cola Profile

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands. The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.