Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 70.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 199,259 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,550 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $14,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 148.4% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This represents a 15.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of KO opened at $66.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.94. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.43.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

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.