CocaCola Company (The) $KO Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its holdings in CocaCola by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, leaving it with approximately 14.36 million shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola for approximately $2.58 million, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership.
• CocaCola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share to be paid on October 1st, reflecting a 3.0% yield based on its current stock price.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,363,652 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,403,934 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.33% of CocaCola worth $1,028,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter worth $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 52.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,398,185,000 after acquiring an additional 16,383,870 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $642,183,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after acquiring an additional 5,891,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 47.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,844,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $848,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.95. 23,968,643 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,052,755. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business's fifty day moving average price is $69.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.48.

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. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. Analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS 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 issued 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 currently 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.