Creative Planning Buys 70,604 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Creative Planning increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,852,532 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,604 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $133,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.70 and a 200-day moving average of $65.76. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $53.86 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related 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 transaction 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 $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.