Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires 22,634 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.7%, acquiring 22,634 shares, making its total ownership 361,164 shares valued at approximately $25.99 million.
• CEO James Quincey and EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold significant portions of their shares, reducing their holdings by 49.12% and 24.32%, respectively.
• Coca-Cola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with a payout set for October 1st, representing a yield of 3.0%.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 361,164 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,634 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in CocaCola were worth $25,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 449.5% in the first quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 187,716 shares in the company, 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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on KO. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment 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.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.1%

KO opened at $69.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average is $69.73. The stock has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 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.

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