The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,222 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 19,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 25,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 107,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after acquiring an additional 18,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $670,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

KO traded up $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $62.81. The company had a trading volume of 5,229,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,818,047. The firm has a market cap of $270.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 380,405 shares of company stock valued at $23,209,645. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.

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.