Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.8% Following Insider Selling

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price was down 0.8% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $71.74 and last traded at $71.79. Approximately 2,818,459 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 15,413,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.40.

Specifically, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.65. The stock has a market cap of $303.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.