Accent Capital Management LLC Takes Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.7% of Accent Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $2,808,056,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,028,000 after purchasing an additional 814,779 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.55.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $62.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.51.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,952,720 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.