Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Sells 1,507 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lessened its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.94 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $305.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.