Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price shot up 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $71.32 and last traded at $71.19. 3,018,805 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,024,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.46. The company has a market cap of $301.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.