Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.79 Million Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,895 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,916 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock opened at $69.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 45.49% and a net margin of 23.00%. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is 81.60%.

About CocaCola

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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