T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Invests $481,000 in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake of 6,706 shares in CocaCola valued at approximately $481,000 during the first quarter.
• Analysts have set price targets for CocaCola, with Royal Bank Of Canada at $76.00 and UBS Group at $84.00, contributing to an average consensus target price of $77.21.
• CocaCola recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 72.34%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth about $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock worth $3,398,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth about $642,183,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CocaCola stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,452,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,663,365. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.48. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $295.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is 72.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

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.