Raymond James & Associates Purchases 1,866,348 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,866,348 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.14% of Coca-Cola worth $397,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $410,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 450,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,549,000 after acquiring an additional 89,139 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.20.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,651,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,051,887. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $69.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.38. 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 cap of $298.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 871,162 shares of company stock worth $571,697,887 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.