Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 67,459 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in CocaCola Company by 8.4%, selling 67,459 shares during the first quarter, resulting in holdings worth approximately $52.55 million.
• Other institutional investors also adjusted their stakes, with notable transactions including Wellington Management Group LLP increasing its holdings by 52.7% and Nuveen LLC purchasing a stake valued at about $1.51 billion.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Buy" for CocaCola, with an average price target of $77.21, while the company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 733,768 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,459 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $52,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter worth $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 148.4% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 449.5% during the first quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.0%

KO stock traded up $0.65 on Friday, hitting $69.01. 14,595,565 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,733,939. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KO. 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. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

About CocaCola

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.