Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.1%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares were down 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $58.86 and last traded at $58.86. Approximately 2,164,238 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 13,764,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,672,479,000 after buying an additional 57,678,466 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $2,808,056,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.