CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Purchases 928 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,886 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 928 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 82,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,927,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $861,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 11.3% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 67,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,839,000 after buying an additional 1,926 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $69.57 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $52.43 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $299.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.43.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % 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, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 376,096 shares of company stock valued at $25,982,352 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.33.

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.