Argent Trust Co Purchases 9,061 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 406,921 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 1.1% of Argent Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $25,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $309.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.13.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,398,603.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.