Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Invests $639,000 in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000. CocaCola accounts for 1.9% of Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in CocaCola by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,734,417,000 after buying an additional 1,992,327 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,273,037,000 after acquiring an additional 433,547 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,865,807,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,958,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,735,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,673 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,581 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,186,798.70. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total transaction of $10,126,419.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 1,594,900 shares of company stock valued at $136,568,617 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.8%

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

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Seaport Research Partners set a $95.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on CocaCola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $89.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.76.

CocaCola Company Profile

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.