Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 525,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,012 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $37,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,448,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position 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 valued at $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Coca-Cola by 42.6% in the 2nd 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. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 7,792.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,744,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola 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 transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $61.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $266.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.54. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $56.96 and a twelve month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.