CocaCola Company (The) $KO Shares Acquired by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Smartleaf Asset Management LLC has increased its stake in Coca-Cola Company by 10.6% in the first quarter, owning 42,489 shares worth approximately $2.99 million.
• Insider transactions revealed CEO James Quincey sold over 266,000 shares valued at around $19.2 million, resulting in a 49.12% decrease in his ownership position.
• Coca-Cola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,489 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,200,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,869,202,000 after buying an additional 1,114,422 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,398,185,000 after buying an additional 16,383,870 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at $1,508,657,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 5.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,133,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,155,499,000 after purchasing an additional 866,773 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $68.82. 11,444,217 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,748,551. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 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.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%.The business had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. Equities analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company 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 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.