Truist Financial Corp Sells 1,747,663 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Truist Financial Corp cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,612,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,747,663 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 1.6% of Truist Financial Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.38% of Coca-Cola worth $978,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 35,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after buying an additional 2,976 shares in the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Chapman Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Callan Capital LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 8,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO remained flat at $61.74 during midday trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,993,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,996,342. The stock has a market cap of $266.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.69. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $60.12 and a 200-day moving average of $58.82.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.