Essex Savings Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Essex Savings Bank boosted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,580 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $63.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $56.06 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,748 shares of company stock worth $14,274,431. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.