GQG Partners LLC Decreases Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• GQG Partners LLC decreased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 31.8% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.11% of the company worth about $341.6 million after selling over 2.2 million shares.
• CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock for about $19.2 million, representing a 49.12% decrease in his position, while insider Nikolaos Koumettis also reduced his holdings by 15.15%.
• Coca-Cola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with the payment scheduled for October 1st, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

GQG Partners LLC reduced its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 31.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,769,746 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,227,442 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC owned about 0.11% of CocaCola worth $341,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,513,000. 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 buying an additional 3,920 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 204,681 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola 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 transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.75 on Wednesday. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $70.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.02. The stock has a market cap of $304.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

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.

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