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

Payden & Rygel boosted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 25.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 biggest holding. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $20,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company's stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company's stock worth $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company's stock worth $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company's stock worth $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 21,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 8.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Cfra restated a "hold" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.01. 18,895,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,411,643. The stock has a market cap of $271.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.09 and a 200 day moving average of $66.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.