Bell Bank Sells 2,492 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bell Bank trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 23,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,492 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the first quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was 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 valued at $29,923,985 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.51 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $71.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.94. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $303.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued 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 2.89%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.