Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $21.01 Million in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in CocaCola Company, purchasing 293,421 shares valued at approximately $21 million, positioning the stock as the fund's 13th largest investment.
• CEO James Quincey and CFO John Murphy sold significant portions of their shares, decreasing their holdings by 49.12% and 30.14% respectively, resulting in a total of 415,387 shares sold by insiders valued at nearly $30 million in the last 90 days.
• Analysts have set new price targets for CocaCola stock, with targets ranging from $76.00 to $83.00, maintaining an average rating of "Buy" for the stock.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 293,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,013,000. CocaCola accounts for about 0.9% of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $283,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in CocaCola by 53.3% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 34,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 12,087 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its holdings in CocaCola by 225.7% in the first quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,996,000 after purchasing an additional 59,061 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in CocaCola by 2.9% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,545,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,516,000 after purchasing an additional 126,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in CocaCola by 69.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 55,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,955,000 after purchasing an additional 22,585 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% 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 valued at $29,923,985 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.39. 16,211,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,734,328. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.50. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $298.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.34%.

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.