HM Payson & Co. Increases Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 96,682 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $6,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of KO opened at $71.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.56. The stock has a market cap of $306.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly 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. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.27.

CocaCola 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.