Firestone Capital Management Acquires 12,045 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Firestone Capital Management raised its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 138.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,756 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,045 shares during the quarter. Firestone Capital Management’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth about $2,513,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,851,000 after purchasing an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,224,000 after acquiring an additional 23,009 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.71.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.89 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.90 and a 200-day moving average of $68.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. 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.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

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.