Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 2,834 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 78,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,834 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 1.3% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 319,005 shares of company stock valued at $22,198,147. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.6 %

KO traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.92. 11,138,127 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,253,075. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $55.10 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.54%.

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.