Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Trims Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,051,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,177 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $65,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $72.56 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $312.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.59.

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.