IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd has increased its stake in CocaCola Company by 2.4% during the second quarter, now holding 780,999 shares valued at approximately $55.3 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for CocaCola, with JPMorgan Chase increasing its target from $77 to $79, reflecting a positive outlook for the stock.
• CocaCola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, which will contribute to an annualized yield of 3.1% for investors.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 780,999 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,158 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up approximately 0.5% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in CocaCola were worth $55,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth approximately $216,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 6.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,889,415 shares of the company's stock worth $2,212,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794,561 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 37.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 471,034 shares of the company's stock worth $33,735,000 after acquiring an additional 128,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fosun International Ltd acquired a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.93.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $66.43 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $69.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%.CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is 72.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Company 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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