Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 2.3% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $66.75 and last traded at $67.84. 10,086,178 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 13,171,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 319,005 shares of company stock valued at $22,198,147. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 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.