First United Bank & Trust Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First United Bank & Trust decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 443 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $72.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.74. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $310.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.