Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 32,171 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola Company by 2.0%, bringing its total holding to approximately $115.25 million in shares.
• Insider sales have been significant, with C.E.O. James Quincey selling 266,403 shares, resulting in a 49.12% decrease in his ownership.
• Analysts are generally optimistic about CocaCola's stock, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,609,189 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,171 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $115,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $68.64. The company had a trading volume of 5,538,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,680,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $295.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.46. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.34%.

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.