Welch Group LLC Grows Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,317 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $18,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in CocaCola by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in CocaCola by 148.4% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. BNP Paribas restated an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.93.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $67.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $288.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.06 and a 200 day moving average of $69.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. As a group, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

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.