BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Boosts Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,062,430 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105,187 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $148,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $269,382,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,448,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Coca-Cola by 42.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 8.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The trade was a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE KO opened at $63.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $271.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.52.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 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.