United Community Bank Sells 26,798 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

United Community Bank trimmed its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 56.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,472 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,798 shares during the period. United Community Bank's holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CocaCola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 8,419.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock worth $426,927,000 after buying an additional 5,891,034 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in CocaCola by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock worth $588,871,000 after acquiring an additional 5,139,352 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 directly owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,735,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,329,972. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $70.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $300.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) 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. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.71.

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.