Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 20,581 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.1%, resulting in 224,259 shares worth approximately $16.06 million as reported in their latest 13F filing.
• Coca-Cola's CEO, James Quincey, recently sold over 266,000 shares of stock, reducing his ownership by nearly 50% and raising concerns about insider confidence.
• Analysts have set an average target price of $77.21 for Coca-Cola shares, with the majority rating it as a "Buy," indicating positive market sentiment.

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 224,259 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,581 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $16,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 19,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,172,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,493,000 after acquiring an additional 269,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC grew its stake in CocaCola by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 122,309 shares of the company's stock worth $7,615,000 after buying an additional 17,263 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:KO traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $68.23. The company had a trading volume of 7,712,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,220,338. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.