Argent Trust Co Has $26.83 Million Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has reduced its holdings in CocaCola by 7.6%, owning 374,674 shares after selling 30,688 shares recently, which now accounts for 1.1% of its investment portfolio.
• CocaCola reported $0.87 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $12.50 billion, representing a 2.5% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51, with a 3.0% dividend yield, highlighting a dividend payout ratio of 72.34%.

Argent Trust Co cut its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 374,674 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,688 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up 1.1% of Argent Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Argent Trust Co's holdings in CocaCola were worth $26,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 19,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 39,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,487,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 159.4% in the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 30,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,929,000 after buying an additional 19,036 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:KO traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $69.17. 3,611,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,140,041. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $297.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.21.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CocaCola

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.