Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 36,258 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.9%, holding 1,926,916 shares valued at approximately $138 million.
• Coca-Cola recently reported Q2 earnings of $0.87 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $12.50 billion, marking a 2.5% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.04, with a dividend yield of 2.95%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,926,916 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,258 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in CocaCola were worth $138,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KO. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at $2,513,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company's stock worth $52,851,000 after acquiring an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. boosted its position in CocaCola by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 23,009 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:KO traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.10. 3,459,393 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,241,051. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $70.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.50. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $297.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.45.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

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.