The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by First County Bank CT

First County Bank CT lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 18.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,491 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,562 shares during the period. First County Bank CT's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,513,000. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,708 shares of the company's stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 10,240 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 218,985 shares of the company's stock worth $13,634,000 after acquiring an additional 30,650 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 7,238,640 shares of the company's stock worth $447,963,000 after acquiring an additional 22,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.13. 28,013,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,764,664. The company has a market cap of $310.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.