Avestar Capital LLC Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,536 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 46,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 3,435 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth about $452,000. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 57,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 7,226 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.4% in the first quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 25,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $64.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $276.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.47 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 earned $0.74 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. 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.