Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 12,640 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,201,010 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,640 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for approximately 0.5% of Arizona State Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in CocaCola were worth $86,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth about $2,513,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company's stock worth $8,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company's stock worth $52,851,000 after purchasing an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company's stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 23,009 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

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

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.89 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $70.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.82. The firm has a market cap of $300.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.71.

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.

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