Smithfield Trust Co Has $1.19 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Smithfield Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 965 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 113.4% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 6,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Snider Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $562,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $497,000. Finally, Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE KO opened at $70.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $301.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.