CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in CocaCola by 0.6%, owning approximately $189.17 million in shares after selling 15,187 shares during the 1st quarter.
• The CocaCola Company reported earnings of $0.87 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.83, with a revenue of $12.50 billion.
• CocaCola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, representing a dividend yield of 2.9%, set to be paid on October 1st.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,641,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,187 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of CocaCola worth $189,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in CocaCola by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% 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 insiders.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.92. 12,329,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,900,418. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.06. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The company has a market capitalization of $300.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm 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%. CocaCola's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.