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

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 227.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,250 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,265 shares during the period. CocaCola comprises 1.0% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.15 on Thursday. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.46.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. CocaCola's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

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.

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