Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.5% After Insider Selling

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $62.46 and last traded at $62.58. 1,875,390 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 13,068,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.88.

Specifically, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,952,720 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.55.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $269.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $61.85 and its 200 day moving average is $60.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933,527 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $193,342,000. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. 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.