Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $100.78 Million Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in CocaCola by 7.6% during Q1, bringing its total to 1.41 million shares, valued at approximately $100.78 million.
• CocaCola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 15th, representing a 2.9% yield.
• Wall Street analysts have an average rating of “Buy” for CocaCola, with price targets ranging from $77.00 to $86.00.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,411,325 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 99,805 shares during the period. CocaCola comprises approximately 0.6% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $100,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $69.57. 10,708,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,931,184. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.02. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. 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 market capitalization of $299.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.34%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm'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 owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.