Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 8,994 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in CocaCola Company by 5.5%, ending the first quarter with 153,875 shares valued at approximately $11.14 million.
• CocaCola recently reported earnings per share of $0.87 for the quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.04, while generating $12.50 billion in revenue, up 2.5% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly $0.51 dividend to be paid on October 1st, representing a 3.0% dividend yield based on an annual payout of $2.04.

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 153,875 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,994 shares during the period. CocaCola makes up about 0.9% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in CocaCola were worth $11,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Republic Capital LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC raised its holdings in CocaCola by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in CocaCola by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CocaCola by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC raised its holdings in CocaCola by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.00. 18,684,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,929,980. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.43. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.40.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%.The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.93.

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.