Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Sells 648,628 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lowered its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 58.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 461,508 shares of the company's stock after selling 648,628 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in CocaCola were worth $33,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 184,888 shares of the company's stock worth $13,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 11.2% during the first quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 161,620 shares of the company's stock worth $11,575,000 after purchasing an additional 16,254 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 7.1% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,446,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 31.2% in the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in CocaCola by 0.4% during the first quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 143,443 shares of the company's stock worth $10,273,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $71.19. 6,845,702 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,376,006. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a market capitalization of $306.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $71.12 and its 200-day moving average is $68.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. CocaCola's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.