The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. reduced its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 169,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,248 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on KO. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $72.24 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $310.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, 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 dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

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.