Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Stock: Fifth Third Bancorp Cuts Holdings

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its position in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,806,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,792 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $241,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,090,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,646,000 after purchasing an additional 32,723 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 402.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 163,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,052,000 after purchasing an additional 130,746 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 68.5% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 218,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,733,000 after purchasing an additional 88,690 shares in the last quarter. Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $12,905,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2,091.3% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 361,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,414,000 after buying an additional 345,417 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 20,585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.62, for a total value of $1,968,337.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,354,814.60. This represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total transaction of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,319.45. The trade was a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $97.59 on Thursday. Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $97.83. The company has a market cap of $419.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 62.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.26.

Key Coca-Cola News

Here’s some of the latest news about KO:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights momentum in functional beverages, including fairlife, Powerade and smartwater, as well as innovation and capacity expansion that could support growth. Can Coca-Cola Benefit From Rising Demand for Functional Drinks?
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO John Murphy is scheduled to present at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference on Dec. 2. The announcement provides an opportunity for investor updates but included no new financial guidance. Conference participation announcement
• Negative Sentiment: KO’s roughly 36% one-year rise has reduced its forward dividend yield to about 2.2%, and commentary cautions that the shares are not cheap. This could limit upside if earnings growth does not keep pace with the stock’s advance. Coca-Cola Stock Is Up 36% in a Year

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands. The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.