Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 2,448,795 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in CocaCola Company by 444.2% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 2,448,795 shares, now totaling approximately 3 million shares.
• Over 70% of CocaCola's stock is held by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• CocaCola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%, with the payment scheduled for October 1st.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 444.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,000,061 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,448,795 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for approximately 0.9% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.07% of CocaCola worth $214,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,508,657,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in CocaCola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after buying an additional 5,891,034 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in CocaCola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE KO remained flat at $70.75 on Tuesday. 11,060,613 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,526,525. 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 Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.02. The company has a market capitalization of $304.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.34%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.