William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $12.72 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,956 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,397 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.21. 12,503,140 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,884,797. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $65.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $280.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sold a total of 822,284 shares of company stock worth $567,718,040 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.