Rice Partnership LLC Acquires 4,115 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Rice Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 106,861 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for approximately 1.6% of Rice Partnership LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $7,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 21.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $71.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.60. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted 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. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. CocaCola’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.