Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 12,804 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,804 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 79,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 7,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $1,546,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 11.4% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 289,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,231,000 after purchasing an additional 29,644 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $16,114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.55.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,952,720 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $62.35. 1,398,718 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,993,169. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.36. The company has a market capitalization of $268.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

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.