Morningstar Investment Services LLC Lowers Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC reduced its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 55.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,740 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,722 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in CocaCola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in CocaCola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's 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 owned 275,946 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.6%

CocaCola stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.67. 22,327,899 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,468,766. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on KO. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.13.

CocaCola 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.