Howard Capital Management Group LLC Increases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 404,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for 1.7% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $25,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KO. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial upped 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.13.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value 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. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

KO stock opened at $62.39 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.67 and a 200 day moving average of $66.45. The firm has a market cap of $268.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Coca-Cola

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.