Donoghue Forlines LLC Buys New Shares in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired 32,195 shares of CocaCola Company (NYSE: KO) valued at approximately $2.3 million during the first quarter.
• CocaCola's CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares, representing a 49.12% decrease in his position, while insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold a total of 37,396 shares.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for CocaCola stock with a consensus price target of $77.21.

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,306,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after buying an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 119.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,871,000 after buying an additional 5,139,352 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 497.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,489,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,548,000 after buying an additional 3,737,646 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock remained flat at $70.75 during trading on Tuesday. The stock had a trading volume of 11,060,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,015,391. The company has a market cap of $304.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $70.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.01. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Profile

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.