Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 655.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,573 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,278 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $3,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in CocaCola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.27.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:KO traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.19. The stock had a trading volume of 9,440,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,160,583. The company has a market capitalization of $306.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.10 and a 200 day moving average of $68.50.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company 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 revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

About CocaCola

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.