Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $7.19 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,583 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,397 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions 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 during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.9% in the first quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 18,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded down $0.32 on Tuesday, reaching $62.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,738,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,018,792. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Coca-Cola 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.