Northern Trust Corp Sells 1,860,036 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in CocaCola Company by 4.2%, now holding approximately 41.9 million shares, making up about 0.4% of its investment portfolio.
• Recent analyst coverage indicates a consensus rating of "Buy" for CocaCola, with target prices ranging from $76.00 to $86.00 from various firms.
• CocaCola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, payable on October 1, representing an annualized yield of 2.9% based on the current stock price.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,942,260 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,860,036 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for 0.4% of Northern Trust Corp's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.97% of CocaCola worth $3,003,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its position in CocaCola by 2.4% during the first quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 101,413 shares of the company's stock worth $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,379 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $253,000. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its stake in CocaCola by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 3.4% during the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 4,612 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in CocaCola by 8.9% during the first quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 307,083 shares of the company's stock worth $21,992,000 after buying an additional 25,110 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Stock Performance

CocaCola stock traded up $0.5090 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.6390. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,527,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,082,515. 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 company has a market cap of $304.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.44. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.24.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is 72.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.