Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.5%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price traded down 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $70.65 and last traded at $70.71. 1,703,218 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 13,108,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.73.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.9 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $3,255,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $102,604,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 17,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Finally, BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $7,421,000. 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.