Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) dropped 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.27 and last traded at $69.24. Approximately 2,712,900 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 13,899,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.6 %

The company has a market cap of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $67.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.