Covea Finance Acquires 105,600 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Covea Finance increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 434,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,600 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $28,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Sava Infond d.o.o. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 210.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 3.6% in the second quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 130,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,209,000 after buying an additional 4,469 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in CocaCola by 5.0% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 4,557,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,455,000 after buying an additional 216,752 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 6.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,889,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,212,300,000 after buying an additional 1,794,561 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

Insider Activity

In other CocaCola news, EVP Manuel Arroyo sold 139,689 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.80, for a total value of $9,889,981.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,111,143.60. This trade represents a 70.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. The trade was a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 225,252 shares of company stock valued at $15,953,007. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $301.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.42. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.55%.

About CocaCola

The Coca‑Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.