Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Sells 9,145 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL trimmed its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,789 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,145 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 1.8% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th 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. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company's stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.14. 8,697,446 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,696,603. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.11. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $306.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.