First County Bank CT Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First County Bank CT lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,491 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,562 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $2,513,000. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 10,240 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 218,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,634,000 after buying an additional 30,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 7,238,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,963,000 after buying an additional 22,904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.49 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $307.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.20.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.