Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Acquires 6,002 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 314,502 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,002 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $22,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 96,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,924,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 74,257 shares of the company's stock worth $5,319,000 after purchasing an additional 9,460 shares during the period. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $623,000. Finally, Ceera Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.4%

KO stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.19. 9,440,457 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,178,355. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.08 and its 200 day moving average is $68.64. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $306.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.