Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $62.95 and last traded at $62.62. Approximately 1,776,597 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 13,984,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $269.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.56.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $18,383,000. Balentine LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,122,000 after purchasing an additional 46,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 21,005 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.