CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in CocaCola by 11.7%, acquiring an additional 10,499 shares, bringing its total holdings to 100,323 shares valued at approximately $6.89 million.
• Analysts are generally positive on CocaCola, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21, although UBS Group recently reduced its price objective from $86 to $84.
• CocaCola declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share to be paid on October 1st, which results in an annualized dividend of $2.04 and a yield of 2.95%.

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,323 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,499 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in CocaCola were worth $6,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in CocaCola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in CocaCola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in CocaCola by 119.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock worth $588,871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on KO shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.9%

KO traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $68.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,999,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,276,010. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $295.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day moving average is $70.64 and its 200-day 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.