CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp has reduced its stake in Coca-Cola by 30.7%, selling 43,955 shares, leaving it with 99,060 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million.
• Coca-Cola's CFO and EVP have recently sold a combined total of over 148,000 shares, representing significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• Analysts have generally upgraded their views on Coca-Cola, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 30.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,060 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,955 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in CocaCola were worth $7,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after buying an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock worth $588,871,000 after buying an additional 5,139,352 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was 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 the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $68.95. 10,691,012 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,521,952. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.69. The stock has a market cap of $296.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 3.58 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About CocaCola

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.