Rice Partnership LLC Has $7.65 Million Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Rice Partnership LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,861 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the period. CocaCola makes up 1.6% of Rice Partnership LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $7,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE KO traded down $0.37 during trading on Monday, reaching $70.98. 16,981,132 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,181,578. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $71.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.64.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In other CocaCola news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last 90 days. 0.90% 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.