Legal & General Group Plc Buys 1,084,475 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,463,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 15,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 7,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 43,511.8% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.69 and its 200-day moving average is $64.64. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. 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 2.72%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 approximately $30,987,070.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

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.