Argyle Capital Management Inc. Sells 12,750 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 63,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,750 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 1.6% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,446,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock remained flat at $61.74 during midday trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,994,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.22.

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.