Novus Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Novus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,927,000 after acquiring an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 119.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,871,000 after acquiring an additional 5,139,352 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $68.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.64. The company has a market cap of $296.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.21.

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.