The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 1.0% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.87.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.48. 2,064,336 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,188,104. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $55.10 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $290.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $70.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.