CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)’s share price shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $68.73 and last traded at $68.6970. 12,603,894 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 16,759,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.31.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a market cap of $295.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.62.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Max R. Levchin purchased 7,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.87 per share, for a total transaction of $503,483.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,835.29. The trade was a 102.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,109.25. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in CocaCola by 5,142.9% during the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 367 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the third quarter worth $27,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Company Profile

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.