Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,849,443 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,503 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in CocaCola were worth $132,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CocaCola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised 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. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $297.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.46. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $71.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.99.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 81.60%.

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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