Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP Has $114.68 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 117.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,874,536 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,011,956 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for 11.3% of Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $114,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.4% during the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 441,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,016,000 after acquiring an additional 65,355 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.0% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 320,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,586,000 after purchasing an additional 18,098 shares in the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the first quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 62,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,795,000 after purchasing an additional 4,675 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 428,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QVR LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $710,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.67. 13,245,682 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,893,741. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $67.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.61.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company 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 yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 879,375 shares of company stock valued at $571,502,245. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.20.

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.