Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.1%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price was down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $57.93 and last traded at $58.06. Approximately 11,236,839 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 11,953,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $250.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.97 and its 200-day moving average is $58.52. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.