CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 2.5% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) traded up 2.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $73.19 and last traded at $72.96. 26,374,573 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 58% from the average session volume of 16,727,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.43.

Read Our Latest Research Report on KO

CocaCola Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $313.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.28 and its 200 day moving average is $69.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. As a group, analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 40,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $2,864,862.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 62,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,441,707.53. The trade was a 39.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 225,252 shares of company stock valued at $15,953,007 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,846,270,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in CocaCola by 52.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,185,000 after buying an additional 16,383,870 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter valued at $642,183,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,996,519,000 after acquiring an additional 6,241,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About CocaCola

(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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