Peoples Financial Services CORP. Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,496 shares of the company’s stock after selling 616 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 68.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.94. 55,727,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,157,437. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $54.01 and a 12-month high of $64.99. The firm has a market cap of $250.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.24.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 23.81%. The business had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total value of $1,283,406.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,118,124. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction of $1,283,406.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,118,124. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total value of $3,133,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,984,378.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 227,364 shares of company stock worth $14,122,016 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.