Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,671 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $61.84 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $63.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.56. The company has a market cap of $266.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

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.