Smart Money Group LLC Boosts Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Smart Money Group LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 21.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,419 shares during the quarter. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in CocaCola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 449.5% during the first quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Stock Down 1.0%

CocaCola stock opened at $70.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $305.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.44. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.