Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,146 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,645 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $890,866,000 after purchasing an additional 378,447 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,417,930 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $71.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $308.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.34. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target 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, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.