Aristotle Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,297,764 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,714 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up about 1.8% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned about 0.36% of Coca-Cola worth $952,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.71. The company had a trading volume of 11,928,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,428,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.54. The firm has a market cap of $308.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

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.