Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.8%, owning 78,350 shares worth approximately $5.61 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Coca-Cola's recent earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, surpassing estimates, with revenues totaling $12.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51, representing a 3.00% yield, to be paid to investors of record on September 15th.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,350 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,508 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $5,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. New Republic Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on KO. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.21.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $1.12 on Friday, reaching $69.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,971,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,231,416. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.54. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $297.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.45.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.