CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Lifted by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society increased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 62.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,310 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 79,830 shares during the quarter. CocaCola comprises approximately 1.1% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in CocaCola were worth $14,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in CocaCola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. BXM Wealth LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 4.3% during the first quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 0.3% during the first quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 50,612 shares of the company's stock worth $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,594 shares of the company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

KO traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,435,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,321,277. The firm has a market cap of $296.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.69 and its 200-day moving average is $69.28.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

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.