The world’s most recognizable beverage brand, Coca-Cola has been a major player in the nonalcoholic beverages market for over 100 years. Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., one of the largest independent bottlers in the United States, plays an important role in this dynamic industry. The company engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of iconic sparkling and still beverages, energy products, bottled water, tea, coffee, juices and sports drinks.
Despite its impressive track record in delivering consistent growth and earnings results over time while maintaining consistency to serve millions around the world with its high-value beverage brands; one notable aspect of the financial year is worth highlighting. The company announced that it had recorded $13.54 EPS (earnings per share) for the quarter leading up to February 22nd against a revenue goal of $1.57 billion.
However, there seems to be growing concern among investors over Coca-Cola Consolidated’s ability to drive sustainable growth above its current performance target. This possibility became especially apparent when Russell Investments Group Ltd sold off a considerable amount of its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE), according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This piece of news confirms that Russell Investment Group Ltd held about 0.07% equity worth $3,230,000 in Coca-Cola Consolidated at the end of Q4 after trimming down by 17.4%. These latest developments signal some level of internal strife within its leadership team and also a possible knock-on effect on investors’ confidence metrics too.
In conclusion, we can speculate that there are likely underlying reasons behind Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s move towards making an adjustment to their portfolio by reducing their stakeholdings by such a significant figure? Could it be as simple as reviewing a difficult business environment or perhaps discovering some nuanced information about future prospects within this popular food company? Whatever these might be; only time will tell, but it is our hope that Coca-Cola Consolidated can mitigate any concerns and stay ahead of the game in the fiercely competitive non-alcoholic beverage market.
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Coca-Cola Consolidated: An Attractive Investment Option with Strong Financials and Growing Institutional Interest
Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. has been making headlines lately, with several hedge funds recently buying and selling shares of the business. Among these, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, while the State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position by 1.5%. Hollencrest Capital Management and TD Asset Management Inc also acquired new stakes in the business during this time period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position significantly by 92.4% in the fourth quarter.
Currently trading on NASDAQ at $655.78, Coca-Cola Consolidated has a market cap of $6.14 billion and a beta of 0.89. The company engages in the production, marketing and distribution of non-alcoholic beverages including sparkling and still beverages as well as energy products and non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water, tea, ready-to-drink coffee, enhanced water, juices and sports drinks.
The company’s financials are also worth noting; it has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.67 – figures that show solid financial management at play within the organization.
Moreover, Coca-Cola Consolidated disclosed a quarterly dividend recently that was paid on Friday May 12th to shareholders who were on record on Friday April 28th – they received a dividend of $0.50 per share which represents an annualized dividend of $2.00 yielding around 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was April 27th.
StockNews.com began coverage on Coca-Cola Consolidated in a research report on Thursday and issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock further endorsing its prospects.
All these factors make Coca-Cola Consolidated seem like an attractive investment option for many institutional investors as evidenced from the fact that 36.33% of its stock is owned by such entities. The company’s 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of $561.28 and $523.84 respectively further highlight its strong financial position.
The future looks bright for Coca-Cola Consolidated as it continues on its mission to provide innovative non-alcoholic beverages to consumers with a focus on sustainability for long-term growth in the market. Investors take note!
