Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Invests $17.68 Million in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 245,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,684,000. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 1.6% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $64.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.47 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.34 and its 200 day moving average is $66.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

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.