Cornerstone Advisors LLC Sells 40,400 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Cornerstone Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in CocaCola by 12.5%, selling 40,400 shares and now owning approximately $20.34 million worth of the company's stock.
• CocaCola's CEO, James Quincey, sold 266,403 shares for over $19 million, representing a significant decrease of 49.12% in his ownership stake.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on CocaCola, with several firms raising their price targets and maintaining an "overweight" or "buy" rating for the stock.

Cornerstone Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,400 shares during the quarter. CocaCola comprises about 0.9% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $20,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. New Republic Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% during the first quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 2.1% during the first quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.7% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% during the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 4.3% during the first quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CocaCola Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of KO opened at $69.00 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $70.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. 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.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. 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 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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