CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Lifted by Close Asset Management Ltd

Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,747 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,664 shares during the quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd's holdings in CocaCola were worth $20,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.13.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock's 50-day moving average is $70.71 and its 200 day moving average is $69.17. The stock has a market cap of $299.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is 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.

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