Archer Investment Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Archer Investment Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 6.2% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 35,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after buying an additional 2,068 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 26,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $157,087,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 108.7% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 169,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,380,000 after buying an additional 88,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $598,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’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 owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This represents a 35.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.15. 1,709,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,254,244. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.48. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $56.70 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Coca-Cola 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.