Ballast Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ballast Inc. lessened its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $62.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $270.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 3.35 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’s 50 day moving average is $62.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.13.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.