Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 3.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shot up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $73.86 and last traded at $73.70. 8,687,289 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 14,926,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42. 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 company has a market capitalization of $314.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

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