First American Trust FSB Lowers Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First American Trust FSB reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 153,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,639 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 1.1% of First American Trust FSB’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,423,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,853,175. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99. The company has a market cap of $250.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.18.

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.