Argent Trust Co Increases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 405,362 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,744 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 1.0% of Argent Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $25,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,749,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,924,000 after buying an additional 8,260 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 541,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,732,000 after purchasing an additional 46,325 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 521,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,448,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 191,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,937,000 after acquiring an additional 73,471 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.9 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 920,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,202,395. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.27 and its 200 day moving average is $66.36. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.95. 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 market capitalization of $303.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 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.