Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,114,422 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 0.3%, acquiring an additional 1,114,422 shares, now holding approximately 8.39% of the company valued at $25.87 billion.
• Insider sales were notable, with CEO James Quincey selling 266,403 shares for about $19.2 million, representing a significant 49.12% decrease in his position.
• CocaCola reported strong earnings of $0.87 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51, yielding 3.0%.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361,200,808 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,114,422 shares during the period. CocaCola comprises about 0.5% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.39% of CocaCola worth $25,869,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 148.4% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

CocaCola Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $70.32. 9,229,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,864,419. The stock has a market cap of $302.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.44. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.83.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.