KBC Group NV Grows Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 168.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,771,462 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,739,728 shares during the quarter. CocaCola accounts for about 0.6% of KBC Group NV's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.06% of CocaCola worth $198,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% in the first 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 period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,464,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,098,647. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.32. The firm has a market cap of $303.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. CocaCola's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola 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, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.27.

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.