Laraway Financial Advisors Inc Buys 302 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Laraway Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $70.62 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.59.

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.