Country Trust Bank Sells 294 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Country Trust Bank lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,065 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth $102,604,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $7,421,000. Duality Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 191.1% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after buying an additional 73,434 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,578,000 after buying an additional 20,048 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 226,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,013,000 after buying an additional 23,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $3,981,938.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,074,330.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 376,096 shares of company stock valued at $25,982,352. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $52.11 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $297.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.