Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.19.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $67.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.31.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current 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.