Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 1.4% – Should You Sell?

21 Mar 2025, 14:00 by Scott Moore · The Cerbat Gem

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report)’s stock price was down 1.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $68.57 and last traded at $68.74. Approximately 7,151,294 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 13,917,532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. DZ Bank raised 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 Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

View Our Latest Research Report on KO

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $295.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 moving average is $66.85 and its 200-day moving average is $66.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 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.