CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 654,259 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,848 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for about 1.0% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in CocaCola were worth $46,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of KO traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.33. 12,635,030 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,346,800. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $70.85 and its 200-day moving average is $68.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.45.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

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.