New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 319,320 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,394,013 shares of the company’s stock after selling 319,320 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 0.5% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $387,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at $188,448,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $157,087,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,104,000 after buying an additional 2,443,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.29. The company had a trading volume of 917,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,203,577. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $281.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $56.06 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 261,870 shares of company stock worth $18,256,369. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.