CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lowered its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,494 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,506 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $7,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.5% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 96,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter worth about $104,000. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 14.6% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 74,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,319,000 after buying an additional 9,460 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter worth about $623,000. Finally, Ceera Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.27.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.4%

KO opened at $71.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

CocaCola 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.