Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.2% – What’s Next?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $71.91 and last traded at $71.77. 3,450,976 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 17,952,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 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 KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.