CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Position Increased by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in CocaCola by 16.3% to a total of 330,676 shares, making it the fund's 8th largest position.
• CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola, representing a 49.12% decrease in his holdings, while the stock has a current yield of 2.9%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on CocaCola, with an average target price of $77.21 and an overall rating of "Buy," while UBS recently lowered its target price from $86.00 to $84.00.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 330,676 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 46,291 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up about 2.1% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $23,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $1,508,657,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in CocaCola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after acquiring an additional 5,891,034 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,871,000 after buying an additional 5,139,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.57 on Thursday, hitting $69.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,055,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,864,895. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $70.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.02. The company has a market capitalization of $300.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on KO. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.