CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Position Lifted 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. boosted its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 330,676 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,291 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up approximately 2.1% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $23,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.92. The company had a trading volume of 12,364,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,819,584. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $70.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.11. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.