Lee Financial Co Trims Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Lee Financial Co lessened its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,758 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,046 shares during the period. Lee Financial Co’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,513,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 3.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $52,851,000 after buying an additional 204,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Research Corp increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 10,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $300.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.20. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.