Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,530 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares during the quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $4,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in CocaCola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 now owns 275,946 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.27.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.42. 23,464,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,098,647. The company has a market capitalization of $303.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $71.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The business 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 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

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.