Goldstone Financial Group LLC Takes $206,000 Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,513,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,851,000 after buying an additional 204,681 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,767,000 after buying an additional 783,161 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,224,000 after buying an additional 23,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $416,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.94 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.56 and a 200-day moving average of $67.87. The company has a market capitalization of $305.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.