Washington Trust Bank Acquires New Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Washington Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 4,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $68.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.48. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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 anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. 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 presently 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.