River Global Investors LLP Increases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

River Global Investors LLP increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,255 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,568 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,748 shares of company stock valued at $14,274,431. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, hitting $63.92. 14,719,308 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,338,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $275.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $56.06 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.56 and its 200 day moving average is $66.44.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

About Coca-Cola

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.