Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $6.29 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of 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 valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 4.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 37.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

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Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $71.65. The company had a trading volume of 7,495,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,897,020. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.38. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.