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

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

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at $102,604,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at $7,421,000. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after buying an additional 73,434 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,578,000 after buying an additional 20,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11.6% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 226,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.44. 15,087,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,165,565. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $53.86 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.70 and a 200-day moving average of $65.72. The stock has a market cap of $303.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.