CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Costello Asset Management INC

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in CocaCola by 719.1% in Q1, owning 6,889 shares valued at approximately $493,000.
• Analysts have given CocaCola a strong-buy rating, with a consensus target price of $77.21, reflecting positive sentiment among research firms.
• CocaCola recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.0%, to be paid on October 1st.

Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 719.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,889 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,048 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in CocaCola by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock worth $588,871,000 after acquiring an additional 5,139,352 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KO. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.3%

KO stock traded up $0.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $70.41. 15,784,037 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,805,632. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.78. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

Insider Activity

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.