Cypress Capital Group Lowers Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Cypress Capital Group reduced its holdings in CocaCola by 11.4%, selling 6,053 shares in the first quarter, leaving the fund with 46,881 shares valued at approximately $3.36 million.
• CocaCola reported $0.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.04, with a revenue of $12.50 billion, slightly below estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, set to be paid on October 1st, representing an annual yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 72.34%.

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,881 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,053 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in CocaCola were worth $3,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 19,102 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in CocaCola by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,283,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO remained flat at $70.75 during trading on Tuesday. 11,060,613 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,526,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 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. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

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.