Echo45 Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Echo45 Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 52.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,185,000 after acquiring an additional 16,383,870 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth about $642,183,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after purchasing an additional 6,241,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in CocaCola by 7,239.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,149,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,086,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065,840 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on KO. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total value of $947,411.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Max R. Levchin bought 7,206 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.87 per share, with a total value of $503,483.22. Following the purchase, the director owned 14,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,835.29. This represents a 102.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 225,252 shares of company stock worth $15,953,007 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $72.58 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. The business 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

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.