Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) dropped 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $61.21 and last traded at $61.72. Approximately 3,092,831 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 13,919,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average of $59.06. The stock has a market cap of $267.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.