Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 112,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,552 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up approximately 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $8,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in CocaCola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in CocaCola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in CocaCola 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 during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $68.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.07.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CocaCola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

About CocaCola

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.