Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 121,925 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,357,828 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 121,925 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $150,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,074,910 shares of company stock worth $585,972,318 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $71.15 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $306.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.54.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.73.

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.