Essex Savings Bank Raises Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Essex Savings Bank raised its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,605 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in CocaCola by 21.9% during 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. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in CocaCola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.3%

KO opened at $69.61 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.95. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The firm has a market cap of $299.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

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.