Haverford Trust Co Sells 6,865 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Haverford Trust Co decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,407,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,865 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $87,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 49,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 932,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,996,000 after purchasing an additional 130,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 73,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $68.58 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

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.