Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.2% on Analyst Downgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares were down 0.2% on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $65.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as low as $59.72 and last traded at $60.02. Approximately 2,966,978 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 13,734,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.17.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on KO. Citigroup lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933,527 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after buying an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

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.