Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.7% – What’s Next?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares rose 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $62.84 and last traded at $62.84. Approximately 5,019,131 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 14,059,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 393,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,044,000 after acquiring an additional 36,651 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,676,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,058,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,355,000 after purchasing an additional 135,152 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 598.0% in the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 705 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,800,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.