Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Buys 6,917 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,431 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,917 shares during the quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lifted 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $305.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.89.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 currently 81.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.