Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 0.8%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.66 and last traded at $63.65. Approximately 2,302,676 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 12,982,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Argus upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $272.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.88.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.0% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 121,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,787,000 after acquiring an additional 4,812 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.8% during the third quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 110,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,201,000 after purchasing an additional 10,777 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.5% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 248,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,896,000 after acquiring an additional 7,575 shares during the period. 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.