The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) EVP Lisa Chang Sells 13,445 Shares

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.93 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.36 and its 200 day moving average is $66.50. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 39,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.6% in the third quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 5,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 661 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.