Islay Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Islay Capital Management LLC cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $81,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE:KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.95. The stock has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.