Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.2% Higher

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price traded up 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.71 and last traded at $60.53. 1,819,239 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 14,034,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 110.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 9,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 4,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Lawrence B lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.