Rockland Trust Co. Purchases 2,752 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,086 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after purchasing an additional 59,503 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,122,000 after purchasing an additional 46,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $61.98 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.78 and a 200 day moving average of $66.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. Barclays dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.60.

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.