Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $6.69 Million Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 93,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $6,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in CocaCola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $70.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.25 and its 200-day moving average is $68.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KO. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.27.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.