World Investment Advisors Buys 9,460 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,257 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,460 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in CocaCola were worth $5,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $623,000. Ceera Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,241 shares of the company's stock worth $2,810,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbia River Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $116,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.16. 5,896,639 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,307,709. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The company's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. CocaCola's payout ratio is 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.