Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,794 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $102,604,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,421,000. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 191.1% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 73,434 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,578,000 after purchasing an additional 20,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.6% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 226,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their target price 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

KO stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.48. 1,240,447 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,114,941. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.60 and a 200-day moving average of $65.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $53.21 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.