The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management trimmed its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,243 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Lawrence B lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.8% during the third quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $58.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,266,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,670,610. The firm has a market cap of $253.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.52.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

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.