Simmons Bank Sells 8,506 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Simmons Bank decreased its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,494 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,506 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank's holdings in CocaCola were worth $7,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in CocaCola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in CocaCola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $71.19. 9,440,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,178,355. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.64. The company has a market cap of $306.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

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.