Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,058,748 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143,127 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $63,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,672,479,000 after purchasing an additional 57,678,466 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,937,315,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 79,101,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,031,669,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722,435 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 164.7% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,430,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,981,000 after purchasing an additional 8,979,379 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $429,854,000. 68.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Barclays cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 20,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $1,152,368.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,046,653.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 20,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $1,152,368.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,046,653.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 92,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.09, for a total value of $5,345,964.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,707,497.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 204,592 shares of company stock worth $11,455,015. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $57.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.37. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $11.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.45 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.44% and a net margin of 23.92%. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.90%.

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.