Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $69.67 and last traded at $69.85. Approximately 2,805,863 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 13,919,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $299.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.37 and its 200-day moving average is $66.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 2.93%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $500,192,000. 70.26% of the stock is 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.