Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Has $5.56 Million Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 5.1%, acquiring an additional 3,800 shares, bringing its total holdings to 77,628 shares worth approximately $5.56 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Capital International Investors, have also raised their stakes, reflecting strong institutional interest in CocaCola with over 70% of shares owned by hedge funds.
• CocaCola announced a $0.51 quarterly dividend to be paid on October 1st, representing an annualized dividend of $2.04 and a yield of 2.9%.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,628 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $5,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,006,000. Fiduciary Family Office LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,218,000. Taylor Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE:KO remained flat at $70.75 during trading hours on Tuesday. 11,060,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,526,525. The company has a market cap of $304.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.09 and a 200-day moving average of $70.02. 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 (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.