CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola Company by 8.3% in Q1, owning a total of 2,196,101 shares valued at approximately $157.29 million.
• Coca-Cola reported earnings of $0.87 EPS, exceeding expectations and showing a 2.5% year-over-year revenue increase despite slightly missing revenue estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 72.34%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,196,101 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 168,388 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.05% of CocaCola worth $157,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,508,657,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in CocaCola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $642,183,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after buying an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in CocaCola by 119.0% in the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.5%

CocaCola stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.92. 12,364,886 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,819,584. The company's fifty day moving average price is $70.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.16. The company has a market cap of $300.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.