Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 883 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.7% during the second quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 42,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.73.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $71.41 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.