Vest Financial LLC Reduces Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC has reduced its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.6%, following a sale of 128,791 shares during the second quarter.
• A significant number of institutional investors have also adjusted their stakes in Coca-Cola, with 70.26% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Coca-Cola announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

Vest Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 818,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 128,791 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $57,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 52.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,398,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $642,183,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 47.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,844,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $848,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 16.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 21,236,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,554,074,000 after purchasing an additional 2,922,619 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.0%

KO stock opened at $67.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $68.06 and its 200 day moving average is $69.84. The stock has a market cap of $288.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.43. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. Sell-side analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is 72.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of CocaCola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.93.

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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