Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Boosts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,210 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. CCG Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the third quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the third quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $61.74 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.54. 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 company has a market cap of $265.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $56.70 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This represents a 35.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.