First Western Trust Bank Sells 1,159 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

First Western Trust Bank lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,159 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 21,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.3 %

KO stock opened at $61.74 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.54. The company has a market cap of $265.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.70 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 35.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.