Simon Quick Advisors LLC Has $1.75 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 29.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,482 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,544 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $72.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $310.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 81.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

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.