Generate Investment Management Ltd Makes New $4.86 Million Investment in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 67,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,858,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Live Oak Investment Partners grew its holdings in CocaCola by 1.6% in the first quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 12,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at approximately $801,000. Arlington Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 21.4% during the first quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 61,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,430,000 after buying an additional 10,895 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.3% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 71,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,127,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 15,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.20 on Wednesday. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.42 and its 200 day moving average is $68.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.46.

CocaCola (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. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.27.

About CocaCola

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.