Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0%

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) fell 0% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $68.54 and last traded at $68.55. 2,729,378 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 13,001,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KO. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.20.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.26. The firm has a market cap of $295.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $3,981,938.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,074,330.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total value of $3,981,938.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,074,330.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 871,162 shares of company stock worth $571,697,887. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 14,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,851,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,120,000 after acquiring an additional 272,896 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,393,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,337,000 after acquiring an additional 22,623 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1,716.8% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 290,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,508,000 after buying an additional 274,779 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.