Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,842 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,488 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $71.85 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Coca-Cola 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.