Verity Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 82.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,728 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,119 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.42 on Monday. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $303.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.25 and a 200-day moving average of $68.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.27.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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