First County Bank CT Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First County Bank CT decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,053 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,242 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO remained flat at $60.81 during trading on Tuesday. 9,994,381 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,736,998. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.25 and its 200-day moving average is $66.57. The firm has a market cap of $261.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Coca-Cola 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.