First Manhattan CO. LLC. Grows Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC. has increased its stake in CocaCola by 8.1%, now holding 951,457 shares worth approximately $68.62 million.
• Multiple large investors such as Wellington Management and GAMMA Investing have significantly increased their stakes in CocaCola during the 1st quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest in the stock.
• CocaCola reported $0.87 earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a declaration of a $0.51 quarterly dividend.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 951,457 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,582 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $68,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth $216,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company's stock worth $8,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in CocaCola by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company's stock worth $52,851,000 after acquiring an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Fosun International Ltd purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in CocaCola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 10,419 shares of the company's stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CocaCola stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.95. 23,968,643 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,052,755. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $292.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.65 and a 200-day moving average of $70.48. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

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.