Ballast Inc. Sells 250 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ballast Inc. trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $62.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.40.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.13.

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.