Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 146,082 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,638,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146,082 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $117,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CocaCola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research raised CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.27.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $302.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.46.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. CocaCola’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Company 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.