Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price was down 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $68.68 and last traded at $69.32. Approximately 3,626,865 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 13,113,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a market cap of $293.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 884,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,552,000 after purchasing an additional 99,047 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,104,000 after buying an additional 2,443,612 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 1,173,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,292,000 after acquiring an additional 81,700 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,303,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,628,000 after acquiring an additional 65,997 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.