Busey Bank Sells 359 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Busey Bank lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $67.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $55.10 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.74 and its 200 day moving average is $65.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $289.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 319,005 shares of company stock worth $22,198,147. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.