The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,791,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305,999 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Coca-Cola worth $360,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.52 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $307.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.36 and a 200-day moving average of $66.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’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 directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.