Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 6,241,163 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Coca‑Cola by 1.7% in Q2, buying 6,241,163 shares to hold 367,441,971 shares (an 8.54% stake) worth about $25.996 billion.
• Wall Street analysts collectively rate the stock a consensus Buy with an average price target of $78.43, and several firms recently raised targets into the high $70s/low $80s.
• Coca‑Cola declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 (annualized $2.04) with an ex‑dividend date of December 1 and a yield of roughly 2.9%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,441,971 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,241,163 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.54% of CocaCola worth $25,996,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 5,142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 367 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $78.43.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.46. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 27.34%. As a group, analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,638,109.25. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Max R. Levchin purchased 7,206 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.87 per share, with a total value of $503,483.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 14,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,835.29. This trade represents a 102.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 193,627 shares of company stock worth $13,702,256 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% 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.

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