First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $13.66 Million Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 190,778 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,167 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th 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. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the fourth 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, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,988 shares of the company's stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.37 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $71.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.63. 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 company has a market cap of $307.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

Coca-Cola (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. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Coca-Cola's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola 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 directly owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 440,664 shares of company stock worth $31,730,532 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

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.

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