Centre Asset Management LLC Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Centre Asset Management LLC grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,285 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,727,000 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. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 79,101,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,031,669,000 after buying an additional 10,722,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 76,982,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,764,721,000 after buying an additional 1,087,974 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 60,636,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,728,653,000 after buying an additional 2,546,489 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,672,479,000 after buying an additional 57,678,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $2,937,315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.96% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $58.46 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $54.01 and a one year high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.06. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The company had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction of $1,283,406.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,118,124. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction of $1,283,406.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,118,124. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,984,378.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 227,364 shares of company stock worth $14,122,016. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.33.

Coca-Cola 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.