Citizens Business Bank Invests $200,000 in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Citizens Business Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $61.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.22.

About Coca-Cola

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.