Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 21,552 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,935 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,552 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for about 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in CocaCola were worth $8,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.00.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE KO opened at $68.84 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $296.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $71.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.07.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

CocaCola 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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