Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Buys 4,086 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company by 24.6%, acquiring an additional 4,086 shares, bringing its total holdings to 20,695 shares worth approximately $1.48 million.
• Coca-Cola reported a Q2 earnings per share of $0.87, exceeding estimates of $0.83, with a net margin of 25.89% and a revenue of $12.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, to be paid on October 1, representing an annual yield of 2.95% and a payout ratio of 72.34%.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,695 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,086 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 449.5% during the 1st quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, 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 sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO traded down $0.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $68.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,108,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,216,830. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $70.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.49. 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 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

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.