Mizuho Securities USA LLC Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 251,525 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,421 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 96,155 shares of the company's stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,936,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,805,000 after buying an additional 139,541 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company's stock worth $638,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,930 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 275,473 shares of the company's stock worth $16,853,000 after buying an additional 10,937 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 365.5% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 38,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 30,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 160,881 shares of company stock worth $10,693,244. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.2 %

KO stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.76. The company had a trading volume of 11,612,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,430,686. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.09 and a 200 day moving average of $66.52. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.47 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $274.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Coca-Cola 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.