Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $5.25 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,109 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,279 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 86,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,235,000 after buying an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 790,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,782,000 after acquiring an additional 51,339 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 26,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 60.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 6,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.7% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 174,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,518,000 after purchasing an additional 11,003 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 376,096 shares of company stock worth $25,982,352 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,687,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,277,112. The company has a market cap of $302.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.09. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.