First Bank & Trust Acquires 14,748 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 207.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,842 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,748 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maltin Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $484,000. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Tlwm bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, LifePro Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $223,000. Institutional investors own 68.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total value of $3,133,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,984,378.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total value of $1,283,406.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,124. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,984,378.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 227,364 shares of company stock valued at $14,122,016. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on KO. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $58.14. 5,785,855 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,114,714. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.25. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $54.01 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $251.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The company had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 75.72%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.