Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $6 Million Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 225.7% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 59,061 shares, valued at approximately $5.99 million.
• Coca-Cola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51, with a dividend yield of 3.00%, scheduled for payment on October 1st.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.87, exceeding estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.5% to $12.50 billion.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 225.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,232 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,061 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in CocaCola were worth $5,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter worth $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 449.5% during the first quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE KO traded up $1.00 on Friday, reaching $68.89. The stock had a trading volume of 10,361,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,236,900. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.54. 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 company has a market capitalization of $296.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is 72.34%.

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.