FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Lowers Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co reduced its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 693,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,729 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises 3.6% of FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $49,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This represents a 35.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:KO opened at $62.55 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.70 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

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.