NewEdge Wealth LLC Grows Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 6.5% in Q1, owning a total of 289,697 shares valued at approximately $20.75 million.
• CocaCola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.0%, to be paid on October 1st.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by executives, with CFO John Murphy selling 88,658 shares and EVP Beatriz R. Perez selling 60,326 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 289,697 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,668 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $20,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Republic Capital LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 1.6% in the first quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 2.1% in the first quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 0.7% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were 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 owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE KO opened at $68.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.64. 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 $296.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

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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