Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 10,210 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,210 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the third quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of KO opened at $61.73 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $56.70 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

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.