Vista Investment Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 30.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,417 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,793 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth about $241,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth about $24,472,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in CocaCola by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 19,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

KO stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.84. 40,836,844 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,022,469. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $71.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.99. The firm has a market cap of $296.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.46. 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 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. CocaCola's payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

CocaCola 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.