MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,110,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,449 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 0.5% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $79,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $64.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.47 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.