Ledyard National Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ledyard National Bank grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,253 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 686,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,467,000 after purchasing an additional 56,759 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 167,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,859,000 after acquiring an additional 3,675 shares during the period. Investment House LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 24,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

KO traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $61.90. 6,852,310 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,897,770. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.96. The company has a market cap of $266.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

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.