First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 176,397 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the period. CocaCola comprises about 2.5% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $12,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in CocaCola by 52.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,185,000 after buying an additional 16,383,870 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $642,183,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in CocaCola by 47.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,844,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,315,000 after buying an additional 3,810,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in CocaCola by 16.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 21,236,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,554,074,000 after buying an additional 2,922,619 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on KO shares. BNP Paribas reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on CocaCola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.93.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $67.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.43. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 72.34%.

About CocaCola

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.