Greystone Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Greystone Financial Group LLC cut its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,612 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,772 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 97,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 30.2% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 311,384 shares of the company's stock worth $22,301,000 after buying an additional 72,178 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 190,778 shares of the company's stock worth $13,664,000 after purchasing an additional 8,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Single Point Partners LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $233,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value 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 trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 440,664 shares of company stock valued at $31,730,532 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $71.37 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $71.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.63. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The company has a market capitalization of $307.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. 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 released its quarterly 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. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Coca-Cola 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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