CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in CocaCola Company by 7.5%, owning 271,785 shares after selling 22,194 shares, worth approximately $19.47 million.
• CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola at an average price of $72.06, resulting in a 49.12% decrease in his ownership, while the firm plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.51 on October 1st.
• A number of brokerages have issued new ratings and price targets for CocaCola, with JPMorgan raising its price target to $79.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock.

Associated Banc Corp lessened its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,785 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,194 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in CocaCola were worth $19,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 119.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KO. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.90 on Thursday, hitting $70.41. The stock had a trading volume of 15,784,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,805,632. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.78. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.