Hodges Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,950 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.9% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.9% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 42,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 85.6% during the third quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 6,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.0% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 30,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,018,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,988,000 after acquiring an additional 126,696 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $63.65 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Argus raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.83.

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.