Employees Retirement System of Texas Buys 121,949 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,735,949 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 121,949 shares during the quarter. CocaCola accounts for approximately 1.0% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in CocaCola were worth $122,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in CocaCola by 5,142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 367 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter worth $42,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.0%

KO opened at $72.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.48. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $312.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 67.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Max R. Levchin purchased 7,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.87 per share, for a total transaction of $503,483.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,835.29. The trade was a 102.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 40,390 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $2,864,862.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,621 shares in the company, valued at $4,441,707.53. The trade was a 39.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 225,252 shares of company stock valued at $15,953,007 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola 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.