Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,709 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,916 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $8,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,988 shares of the company's stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $71.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,033,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,749,288. The company has a market capitalization of $306.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $71.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 440,664 shares of company stock worth $31,730,532 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.