Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $102,604,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth $7,421,000. Duality Advisers LP raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 73,434 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,578,000 after acquiring an additional 20,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 226,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,013,000 after acquiring an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.44. 15,087,519 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,165,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.72. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $53.86 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 over the last 90 days. 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.