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

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

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 grew its stake 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 grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 105,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Circle Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the third quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 37.8% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,088,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,913,000 after buying an additional 846,702 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.41.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.