Insider Selling: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Insider Sells 55,500 Shares of Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Nikolaos Koumettis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 26th, Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $300.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.