CCLA Investment Management Sells 278,654 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• CCLA Investment Management sold 278,654 shares of CocaCola, reducing its stake by 11.3% during the first quarter, and now owns approximately $157 million in CocaCola stock.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 70.26% of CocaCola's stock, with notable increases in positions from Capital International Investors and GAMMA Investing LLC in recent quarters.
• CocaCola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, scheduled to be paid on October 1st, representing a 3.0% yield.

CCLA Investment Management lowered its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,193,572 shares of the company's stock after selling 278,654 shares during the period. CocaCola makes up 2.8% of CCLA Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. CCLA Investment Management owned 0.05% of CocaCola worth $157,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock worth $588,871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,352 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,529,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $68.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $296.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44. 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 50 day simple moving average of $70.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.64. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The business 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%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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 $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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