Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0% Higher – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares were up 0% on Monday . The company traded as high as $69.08 and last traded at $68.70. Approximately 3,068,430 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 14,038,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. 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

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $1,924,000. M1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $782,000. Finally, Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $669,000. 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.