Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,900 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 42,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 76,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,743,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 50,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 17,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 13,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 3,076 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $67.61 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.31. The company has a market cap of $291.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.19.

Coca-Cola Company 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.