Northwest Bancshares Inc. Sells 17,138 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 100,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,138 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 1.2% of Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,479,000 after acquiring an additional 177,241 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,793,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,468,000 after acquiring an additional 222,028 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,930 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $62.58 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $269.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.96 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,881 shares of company stock worth $10,693,244. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

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.