Meridian Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5%, selling 8,703 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with a total of 31,776 shares valued at approximately $2.28 million.
• Insider sales of Coca-Cola stock included CEO James Quincey selling over 266,000 shares for approximately $19.2 million, resulting in a near 49% decrease in his ownership stake.
• Coca-Cola's latest earnings report revealed earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, exceeding expectations, with analysts anticipating an annual EPS of 2.96 for the current year.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 21.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,776 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,703 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,513,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CocaCola by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in CocaCola by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,851,000 after acquiring an additional 204,681 shares during the period. Finally, Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in CocaCola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 10,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.5%

KO traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.92. The company had a trading volume of 12,364,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,819,584. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $300.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.11.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, July 21st. One research 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.com, CocaCola has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction 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 $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.