Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.3%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was down 0.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $61.96 and last traded at $62.00. Approximately 1,928,503 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 13,880,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $270.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 380,405 shares of company stock valued at $23,209,645. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933,527 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893,061 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.