Wellington Management Group LLP Has $3.40 Billion Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP significantly increased its stake in CocaCola by 52.7%, now owning approximately 47.4 million shares worth about $3.4 billion.
• CocaCola's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.87, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $12.50 billion, albeit below the anticipated $12.55 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, scheduled for payment on October 1st, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 52.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,383,870 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.10% of CocaCola worth $3,398,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CocaCola by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,200,808 shares of the company's stock worth $25,869,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,422 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter worth about $1,508,657,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in CocaCola by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 18,408,210 shares of the company's stock worth $1,148,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in CocaCola by 5.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,133,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,155,499,000 after purchasing an additional 866,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO opened at $69.92 on Monday. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $70.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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