The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 486 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,122,000 after buying an additional 46,541 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 21,005 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE KO opened at $61.73 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $56.70 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 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.