Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 9,848 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,078 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,848 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.7% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 105,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares during the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the third quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,088,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,913,000 after buying an additional 846,702 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $70.36 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Company 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.