The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,017 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $11,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 21,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 145,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 34,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 96,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,008,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $61.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.36. The stock has a market cap of $267.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.07.

Coca-Cola Company 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.