The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Insider Nikolaos Koumettis Sells 55,500 Shares of Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Nikolaos Koumettis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 26th, Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.