Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Sells 18,724 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC has reduced its stake in Coca-Cola by 46.9%, selling 18,724 shares and now holds 21,164 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock for about $19.2 million, representing a 49.12% decrease in his ownership.
• Coca-Cola has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, with a payout ratio of 72.34%, and the dividend will be paid on October 1st.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC trimmed its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 46.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,164 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,724 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Capital International Investors increased its stake in CocaCola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 8,419.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,961,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,927,000 after buying an additional 5,891,034 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in CocaCola by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,458,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,871,000 after buying an additional 5,139,352 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in CocaCola by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in CocaCola by 497.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,489,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,548,000 after buying an additional 3,737,646 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $70.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $302.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $70.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.89.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

CocaCola 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.

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