Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.2% Higher

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price was up 0.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $60.71 and last traded at $60.53. Approximately 1,819,239 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 14,034,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 171,246,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,390,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,772 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,672,479,000 after purchasing an additional 57,678,466 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $2,808,056,000. 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.