Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 91,126 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its holdings in CocaCola by 3.8% in the first quarter, owning approximately 2,305,502 shares valued at $165.12 million after selling 91,126 shares.
• CocaCola's quarterly earnings topped expectations with an EPS of $0.87, while revenue was reported at $12.50 billion, slightly below analyst forecasts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, representing a 3.0% dividend yield, which will be paid on October 1st to shareholders of record.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,305,502 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,126 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.05% of CocaCola worth $165,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Stock Performance

CocaCola stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $68.95. The stock had a trading volume of 10,691,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,521,952. The stock has a market cap of $296.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50 day moving average is $70.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.69. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. 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 (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CocaCola Company 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.