MJP Associates Inc. ADV Boosts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $717,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 113,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,685,000 after acquiring an additional 55,080 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 19,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 592,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,913,000 after buying an additional 108,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbor Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Henrique Braun sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total transaction of $3,614,357.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,309,555.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Henrique Braun sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total transaction of $3,614,357.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,309,555.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 928,460 shares of company stock worth $575,312,245 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.68. 12,080,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,088,979. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.63 and its 200 day moving average is $62.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $295.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $69.67.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.20.

About Coca-Cola

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.