The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report)’s stock price fell 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $62.47 and last traded at $62.63. 4,169,164 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 13,251,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.00.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.
Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.1 %
The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.99 and a 200-day moving average of $66.51. The company has a market capitalization of $271.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Coca-Cola Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,300,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,307,000 after purchasing an additional 28,664 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.7% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.1% during the third quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 588,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,319,000 after purchasing an additional 28,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,313,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.