Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.1%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $63.23 and last traded at $63.79. 1,828,704 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 13,065,255 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Argus boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.71. The firm has a market cap of $275.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 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, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was 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 owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.