Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,195 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,594 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after purchasing an additional 378,447 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after buying an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,344,000 after buying an additional 1,417,930 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.95. The company has a market cap of $307.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.73.

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.