V Square Quantitative Management LLC Purchases 5,896 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 74,684 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,896 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 0.8% of V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.93. 3,608,874 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,108,756. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.67 and its 200-day moving average is $65.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $301.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $53.86 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $2,968,637.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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.