Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Grows Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,714,561 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105,372 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $121,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth approximately $642,183,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,996,519,000 after buying an additional 6,241,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 47.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,844,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,315,000 after buying an additional 3,810,752 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $72.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.49. The stock has a market cap of $313.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. As a group, analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola’s payout ratio is currently 67.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Max R. Levchin acquired 7,206 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.87 per share, for a total transaction of $503,483.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 14,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,835.29. The trade was a 102.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.17, for a total value of $2,250,751.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,894,396.10. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 225,252 shares of company stock worth $15,953,007 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.