Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.2%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $70.84 and last traded at $71.33. 2,644,136 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 13,254,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $309.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.82 and its 200 day moving average is $64.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.96, for a total transaction of $1,253,987.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,507,516.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.96, for a total transaction of $1,253,987.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,507,516.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.