CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 63.7% in the first quarter, now owning over 71,000 shares valued at approximately $5.09 million.
• CocaCola recently reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, and achieved a revenue of $12.50 billion with a year-over-year growth of 2.5%.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 72.34%.

Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 63.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,128 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,669 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $5,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KO. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 119.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued 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 $77.21.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.49. 10,778,522 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,951,690. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.22 and a 200 day moving average of $69.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. CocaCola's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.34%.

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.