Stevens Capital Management LP Increases Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP significantly increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 318.3%, acquiring 17,375 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 22,833 shares valued at approximately $1.63 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted their positions, with Norges Bank acquiring a stake valued at about $3.4 billion and Capital International Investors increasing its holdings by 96.0%.
• Recent analyst ratings reveal a consensus "Buy" with a target price of $77.21, while Coca-Cola is poised to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.51 on October 1st, reflecting a yield of 2.95%.

Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 318.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,833 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,375 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after buying an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in CocaCola by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,352 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE KO traded down $0.94 on Monday, hitting $68.23. 6,335,502 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,293,098. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.