Constitution Capital LLC Increases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Constitution Capital LLC raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 41.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,614 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,470 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 2.9% of Constitution Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Constitution Capital LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $2,513,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 10,240 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company's stock worth $52,851,000 after buying an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 196,874 shares of the company's stock worth $12,257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company's stock worth $652,767,000 after acquiring an additional 783,161 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 440,664 shares of company stock worth $31,730,532 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KO shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.37. 9,519,460 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,820,235. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $307.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Coca-Cola 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.