ING Groep NV Has $54.26 Million Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in CocaCola by 14.2%, acquiring an additional 94,391 shares, bringing its total holdings to 757,548 shares valued at approximately $54.26 million.
• CocaCola's CFO and CEO recently sold significant portions of their shares, with the CFO selling 88,658 shares and the CEO selling 266,403 shares, resulting in ownership decreases of 30.14% and 49.12% respectively.
• CocaCola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, indicating a 3.0% yield, with the payment date set for October 1st and an ex-dividend date of September 15th.

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 757,548 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 94,391 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in CocaCola were worth $54,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in CocaCola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. UBS Group cut their price target on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.6%

CocaCola stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.49. The stock had a trading volume of 10,778,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,951,690. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $70.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.73. 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 twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. CocaCola's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

About CocaCola

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.