Alps Advisors Inc. Has $8.24 Million Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,104 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,904 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $8,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in CocaCola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.71.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE KO traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,910,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,309,945. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.93 and a 200 day moving average of $68.77.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. CocaCola's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Company 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.