Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 59.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,060 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KO opened at $71.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $308.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.39 and its 200-day moving average is $67.68. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.