Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.9% – What’s Next?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $71.56 and last traded at $71.68. Approximately 6,869,957 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 16,998,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Evercore ISI raised 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.52. The stock has a market cap of $301.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 95.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,872,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 947,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,428,000 after purchasing an additional 54,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,581,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,611,000 after purchasing an additional 104,323 shares during the period. 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.