Coho Partners Ltd. Lowers Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Coho Partners Ltd. reduced its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 567,065 shares of the company's stock after selling 222,908 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up 2.5% of Coho Partners Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Coho Partners Ltd.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $40,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at $2,513,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,851,000 after purchasing an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $652,767,000 after purchasing an additional 783,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 23,009 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 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. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $68.84 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $296.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.46.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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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