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

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded down 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $63.90 and last traded at $63.96. 1,533,875 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 13,034,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $274.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth about $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.