Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $71.84 and last traded at $71.73. 5,413,511 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 14,854,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a PEG 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $395,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 485.4% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 93,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,724,000 after purchasing an additional 77,580 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.5% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 77,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,554,000 after purchasing an additional 7,317 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.