Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000. CocaCola makes up 1.9% of Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 3.6% during the second quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Gill Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 4.1% in the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 40,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of KO opened at $87.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $65.35 and a 1-year high of $92.49. The stock has a market cap of $378.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.00.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.17 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 39.38% and a net margin of 28.56%.CocaCola’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on KO shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $89.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total transaction of $13,313,290.73. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,439,553.27. This trade represents a 35.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $4,519,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,186,798.70. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,594,900 shares of company stock valued at $136,568,617. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CocaCola

The Coca‑Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.