Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Decreases Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp reduced its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,132 shares of the company’s stock after selling 515 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter worth approximately $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in CocaCola by 52.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,185,000 after acquiring an additional 16,383,870 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter worth approximately $642,183,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 47.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,844,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in CocaCola by 16.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 21,236,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,554,074,000 after acquiring an additional 2,922,619 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.3%

KO opened at $68.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $294.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.72. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. 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 (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on CocaCola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on CocaCola and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Company 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.