Panagora Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 84.0% during the 1st quarter, owning 240,482 shares worth $17.2 million after purchasing an additional 109,800 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Nuveen LLC and Wellington Management Group LLP, have also significantly increased their positions in CocaCola, contributing to institutional investors owning 70.26% of the stock.
• The latest analyst ratings suggest a generally positive outlook for CocaCola, with an average target price of $77.21 and multiple brokerages rating it as a "Buy" or "Outperform."

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 84.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,482 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 109,800 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $17,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KO. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in CocaCola by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock worth $3,398,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth $642,183,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in CocaCola by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,844,673 shares of the company's stock worth $848,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810,752 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $297.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The firm's 50-day moving average is $69.78 and its 200 day moving average is $70.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 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 the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. Research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend 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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