OneAscent Financial Services LLC Trims Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after buying an additional 4,933,527 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after buying an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,448,000 after buying an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $63.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

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.