Marshall Wace LLP Purchases 1,858,834 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1,044.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,036,740 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,858,834 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $144,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after buying an additional 6,241,163 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 130,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,209,000 after acquiring an additional 4,469 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in CocaCola by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 4,557,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,455,000 after acquiring an additional 216,752 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 6.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,889,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,212,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the second quarter worth $22,443,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Manuel Arroyo sold 139,689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.80, for a total transaction of $9,889,981.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,111,143.60. This represents a 70.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.17, for a total transaction of $2,250,751.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,894,396.10. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 225,252 shares of company stock worth $15,953,007 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.43.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock opened at $70.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.21. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. On average, equities analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

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.