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

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price dropped 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $60.14 and last traded at $60.46. Approximately 3,112,647 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 13,747,911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 4,527 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares during the period. Cohen Lawrence B lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.8% during the third quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. 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.