Sovran Advisors LLC Buys 5,894 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 43.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,535 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,894 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 19,102 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth $97,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 9,001.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 675,057 shares of the company's stock worth $42,029,000 after buying an additional 667,640 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on KO shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.42. 23,464,409 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,098,647. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $303.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46. 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's 50-day moving average price is $71.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.32.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 81.60%.

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.