Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $67.39 and last traded at $67.07. Approximately 2,151,490 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 13,199,728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.66 and a 200-day moving average of $66.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $287.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 319,005 shares of company stock worth $22,198,147 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $188,448,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $157,087,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. 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.