The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Montecito Bank & Trust

Montecito Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,965 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,527 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 1.3% of Montecito Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 41,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,946,000 after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 10,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.6% during the first quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.9% in the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 50,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,612,000 after buying an additional 6,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Access Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 34.9% in the first quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after buying an additional 7,360 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.8%

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $305.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. 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 is $71.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.89. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.