State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in CocaCola by 8.6%, selling 130,234 shares and bringing its total holdings to approximately $99 million.
• Insider transactions included CEO James Quincey selling 266,403 shares for about $19.2 million, representing a significant 49.12% decrease in his position.
• Analysts have mixed price targets for CocaCola, with the average target set at $77.21, indicating a generally "Buy" rating for the stock.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,382,967 shares of the company's stock after selling 130,234 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in CocaCola were worth $99,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 2.8% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 23,890 shares of the company's stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 12.5% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 61,872 shares of the company's stock worth $4,447,000 after acquiring an additional 6,853 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 61.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,133 shares of the company's stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 9,977 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 5.6% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 99,302 shares of the company's stock worth $7,112,000 after acquiring an additional 5,294 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.9% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,816 shares of the company's stock worth $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE KO traded up $0.9750 on Tuesday, hitting $70.1050. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,473,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,855,453. The company's 50-day moving average is $69.97 and its 200 day moving average is $70.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The firm has a market cap of $301.71 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 3.64 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 EPS 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 company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. 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 presently 72.34%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.