MUFG Securities EMEA plc Acquires 296,001 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in CocaCola by 192.2%, acquiring an additional 296,001 shares, bringing its total to 450,000 shares valued at approximately $32.23 million.
• CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola for about $19.2 million, resulting in a 49.12% decrease in his ownership stake.
• CocaCola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.9%, scheduled for payment on October 1st.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 192.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 450,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 296,001 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up about 0.7% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in CocaCola were worth $32,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Republic Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock worth $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% in the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 4.3% in the first quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $70.79. The stock had a trading volume of 10,900,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,680,218. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $304.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $70.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. 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.