Mechanics Bank Trust Department Has $5.44 Million Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,764 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,710 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,928,441 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $188,448,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $157,087,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $52.43 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $299.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.51 and its 200 day moving average is $65.43.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 376,096 shares of company stock worth $25,982,352. Company 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.