CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in CocaCola by 14.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 19.16 million shares valued at $1.37 billion.
• Company executives have sold significant shares, with EVP Beatriz R. Perez and CEO James Quincey decreasing their holdings by 24.32% and 49.12%, respectively.
• Analysts have set optimistic price targets for CocaCola stock, with ratings including "buy" and "strong-buy," and an average target price of $77.21.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,160,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,263,944 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.45% of CocaCola worth $1,372,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 449.5% during the 1st quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% 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 company insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

KO stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.32. The company had a trading volume of 9,229,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,864,419. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.44. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $70.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.83.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

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.