The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Position Reduced by Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,045 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 485,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,196,000 after purchasing an additional 6,380 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $416,000. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 99,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,166,000 after acquiring an additional 11,762 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 4,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 103,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,438,000 after acquiring an additional 4,227 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.0 %

KO stock opened at $70.17 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $301.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.