Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in CocaCola by 11.9% during the first quarter, now owning a total of 1,200,741 shares valued at approximately $86 million.
• Insider sales at CocaCola were significant, with Beatriz R. Perez and John Murphy selling over 148,000 shares combined, leading to ownership decreases of 24.32% and 30.14% respectively.
• CocaCola declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.95%, to be paid on October 1st.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,200,741 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 127,774 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in CocaCola were worth $85,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 1.2% in the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. BXM Wealth LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 50,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of CocaCola stock traded down $0.90 during trading on Monday, hitting $68.28. The stock had a trading volume of 5,378,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,281,738. The stock has a market cap of $293.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $70.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.34%.

About CocaCola

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.