Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.1%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded down 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $57.93 and last traded at $58.06. 11,236,839 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 11,953,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $250.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 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.