8,951,766 Shares in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Acquired by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners acquired a new stake in CocaCola Company worth approximately $642.18 million, purchasing nearly 9 million shares, making it the 27th largest position in their portfolio.
• Recent trading activity indicates that other hedge funds have also significantly increased their positions in CocaCola, with Nuveen LLC investing over $1.5 billion for a new position.
• CocaCola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, representing a 2.9% yield annually, with a payout ratio of 72.34%.

Boston Partners acquired a new stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,951,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $642,183,000. CocaCola makes up approximately 0.8% of Boston Partners' holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Boston Partners owned about 0.21% of CocaCola at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $1,508,657,000. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,352 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:KO traded down $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $69.57. The stock had a trading volume of 10,708,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,306,699. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $299.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.06. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. CocaCola's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 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.