Payden & Rygel Has $20.81 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Payden & Rygel boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 25.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 289,560 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,000 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 1.6% of Payden & Rygel’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $20,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth approximately $269,382,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at approximately $188,448,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,104,000 after buying an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,245,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,515,000 after buying an additional 1,866,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.11. 2,889,118 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,341,112. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.33 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $267.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on KO. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value 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 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.