Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,430,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86,988 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.17% of CocaCola worth $532,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Holcombe Financial Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Smart Money Group LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 13,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 2,419 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in CocaCola by 154.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 501,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,900,000 after acquiring an additional 303,894 shares during the period. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 169.6% in the first quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 7,165 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CocaCola Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

CocaCola Company 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.