Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $70.93 and last traded at $70.65. Approximately 2,695,995 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 14,022,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.