Freedom Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,998 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Republic Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% in the first quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 2.1% in the first quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 2.8% in the second quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 0.7% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBA Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 1.2% in the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.31.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.74 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $300.13 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.74.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

About CocaCola

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.