Prudential PLC Has $5.48 Million Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in CocaCola Company by 6.1%, now holding 76,479 shares valued at approximately $5.48 million.
• CocaCola recently reported earnings of $0.87 per share, exceeding forecasts and indicating a 2.5% year-over-year revenue growth to $12.50 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51, scheduled for payment on October 1st, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Prudential PLC boosted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,479 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,405 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $5,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $1,508,657,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in CocaCola by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business'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 value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.46 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $70.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.02. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Company 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.

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