The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,560 shares during the quarter. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,116,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.54 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.41.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.59.

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.