Brown Advisory Inc. Reduces Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 785,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,361 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $56,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth $30,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 449.5% during the first quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated 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 $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.5%

KO traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.80. The company had a trading volume of 14,593,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,304,017. The company has a market capitalization of $300.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.72. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The business's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.