First National Advisers LLC Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First National Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 624 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.16 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.54. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.