Pullen Investment Management LLC Sells 603 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Pullen Investment Management LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the first quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.94 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.84. The company has a market cap of $305.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.