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

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 915,035 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 358,547 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $58,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $3,255,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth about $102,604,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 17,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,421,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.80 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.65 and a 200 day moving average of $64.13.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.07.

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.