Janus Henderson Group PLC Cuts Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 39.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,607,301 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,041,251 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $100,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 841,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,368,000 after acquiring an additional 50,950 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $1,582,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 94,051 shares of the company's stock worth $5,856,000 after buying an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 111,063 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,915,000 after buying an additional 29,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on KO. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.50. 19,798,106 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,595,238. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.86 and a 200-day moving average of $66.68. The stock has a market cap of $307.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.