Aua Capital Management LLC Makes New $201,000 Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Aua Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $72.13 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.32. The company has a market cap of $310.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.