Independence Bank of Kentucky Has $2.90 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,358 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $241,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,472,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.81.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 440,664 shares of company stock worth $31,730,532 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.