Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 2% on Insider Selling

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded down 2% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $70.48 and last traded at $70.55. 5,351,452 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 15,687,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.00.

Specifically, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.1%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.39 and its 200 day moving average is $67.39. The stock has a market cap of $306.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 23.2% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Wolfstich Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after acquiring an additional 4,717 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 33.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 539,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,016,000 after buying an additional 134,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,053,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.