Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 339,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,984 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in CocaCola were worth $24,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

CocaCola Stock Up 0.2%

CocaCola stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.89. The stock had a trading volume of 12,910,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,338,493. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $300.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $70.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.86.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.71.

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.