The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Short Interest Update

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 33,080,000 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the July 15th total of 31,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

KO traded up $0.53 on Friday, reaching $69.18. 12,651,230 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,051,887. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.38. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $69.67. The company has a market cap of $298.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,074,330.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sold 871,162 shares of company stock valued at $571,697,887 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.20.

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.