Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $11.03 Million Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola Company by 6.6%, now owning 154,060 shares worth approximately $11.03 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Capital International Investors, have recently boosted their stakes in CocaCola, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 70.26% in the company.
• CocaCola reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, exceeding analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83, with a revenue of $12.50 billion.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,060 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,535 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $11,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,508,657,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $642,183,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock worth $588,871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE KO traded up $0.5950 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.7250. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,872,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,818,156. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.44. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.24.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

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.