Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $72.36 and last traded at $71.96. 2,833,705 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 14,893,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.0 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.14 and its 200 day moving average is $66.39. 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 has a market capitalization of $306.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have 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 large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $395,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 485.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 93,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,724,000 after buying an additional 77,580 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.5% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 77,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,554,000 after buying an additional 7,317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.