Magellan Asset Management Ltd Purchases 969,956 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd significantly increased its stake in CocaCola Company by 2,075.7%, acquiring a total of 1,016,686 shares worth approximately $72.8 million.
• Insider sales include a significant transaction by CEO James Quincey, who sold 266,403 shares for about $19.2 million, leading to a 49.12% decrease in his ownership.
• Several equities analysts have raised their price targets for CocaCola shares, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. increasing its target from $77 to $79 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2,075.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,016,686 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 969,956 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in CocaCola were worth $72,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 77,628 shares of the company's stock worth $5,560,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth $57,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth $1,006,000. Fiduciary Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth $1,218,000. Finally, Taylor Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective 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. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.2%

CocaCola stock opened at $70.32 on Friday. 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 one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $70.13 and its 200 day moving average is $69.89.

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 return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

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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