The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.39 and last traded at $63.16. 2,163,092 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 13,573,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.10.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have issued reports on KO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.
Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.58. The company has a market cap of $272.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.57.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 389,279 shares of company stock worth $23,771,458 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.
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.