Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,000 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $15,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in 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 grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during 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 increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,417,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 319,005 shares of company stock worth $22,198,147. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE KO opened at $66.92 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $288.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $55.10 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.02.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.54%.

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.