Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

by · The Cerbat Gem

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report)’s stock price fell 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $70.54 and last traded at $70.72. 4,896,365 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 15,256,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $309.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

(Get Free Report)

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.

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