Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 22,143 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,448 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,143 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in CocaCola were worth $9,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 26,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 23.9% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 137,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,855,000 after acquiring an additional 26,545 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 53.7% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 3,310 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 2.8% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 71,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,098,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 12.5% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 3,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.19. 9,440,457 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,178,355. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.