Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 1,035 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 1.0% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.48. The stock had a trading volume of 2,064,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,188,104. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $55.10 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.87.

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.