Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1,300.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 543,953 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 505,112 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $38,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CocaCola Stock Down 1.0%

KO opened at $69.88 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.11. The company has a market cap of $300.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The business's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid 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 yield of 2.92%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. 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. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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