Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Reduces Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 248,280 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,169 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $17,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.4%

KO traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.19. The stock had a trading volume of 9,440,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,132,669. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $306.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $71.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.44. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. CocaCola's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 81.60%.

About CocaCola

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.