LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Has $8.05 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 136,523 shares of the company’s stock after selling 893 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 1.2% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 4,527 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 110.4% during the second quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 9,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 4,749 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen Lawrence B raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.8% during the third quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $61.12. 4,212,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,035,743. The company has a market cap of $263.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.04 and its 200-day moving average is $58.30. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.