Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 479,458 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly increased its stake in CocaCola Company by 431.2% during the 1st quarter, acquiring a total of 590,653 shares worth approximately $42.3 million.
• The company reported $0.87 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, alongside a revenue of $12.50 billion, marking a 2.5% year-over-year increase.
• CocaCola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share with a payment date of October 1st, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 431.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 590,653 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 479,458 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $42,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,352 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 497.0% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,489,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,548,000 after purchasing an additional 3,737,646 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE KO remained flat at $70.75 during trading hours on Tuesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,060,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,015,391. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $70.10 and its 200 day moving average is $70.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $304.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group cut their price target on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

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.