Bank OZK Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bank OZK cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,476 shares of the company’s stock after selling 567 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 8,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO remained flat at $61.74 during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 10,994,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.82. The company has a market cap of $266.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G 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. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.69.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued 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 of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.