Axa S.A. Lowers Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Axa S.A. decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,333,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,274 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $84,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the second quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 86,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,538,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,851,000. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 102,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,497,000 after acquiring an additional 7,160 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 59.5% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 784,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,932,000 after acquiring an additional 292,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 49.0% in the second quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 8,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

KO opened at $71.45 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.44 and its 200-day moving average is $64.54. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.96, for a total value of $1,253,987.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,507,516.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola 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.