The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,253 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Avion Wealth raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $61.90. 6,852,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,897,770. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.96.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.22.

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.