Stratos Investment Management LLC Purchases 5,886 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 24.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,916 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,886 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 21.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in CocaCola by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock worth $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.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, 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 transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,845,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,394,074. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.77. The company has a market capitalization of $300.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 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 fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. 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. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.71.

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.