Welch Group LLC Purchases 5,257 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 249,437 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $15,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth approximately $269,382,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

KO opened at $63.36 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.39.

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.