Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 34,409 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in CocaCola by 4.0% in the first quarter, owning 818,008 shares after selling 34,409 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Capital International Investors and Franklin Resources Inc., have significantly increased their stakes in CocaCola during the fourth quarter, demonstrating growing institutional interest.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.87 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share scheduled for payment on October 1st.

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 818,008 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,409 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $58,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in CocaCola by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 18,408,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,148,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,538 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,080,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,253,309. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $297.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $70.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.