WASHINGTON TRUST Co Increases Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,470 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,773 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Somerville Kurt F increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the first quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 21,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 46.5% during the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 545 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.13. The company had a trading volume of 4,839,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,043,032. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.04 and its 200-day moving average is $58.30.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.