Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 1.3%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.07 and last traded at $68.96. 4,385,280 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 13,025,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.20.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.89. The firm has a market cap of $295.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 937,334 shares of company stock valued at $575,874,057 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. 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.