James Hambro & Partners LLP Buys 40,636 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

James Hambro & Partners LLP grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,351,806 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,636 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises about 4.0% of James Hambro & Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. James Hambro & Partners LLP's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $96,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the first quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 4,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.54 on Monday, reaching $70.48. 5,643,099 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,845,413. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.56 and a 200 day moving average of $67.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KO. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

About Coca-Cola

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.