Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 1.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) fell 1.5% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $68.16 and last traded at $68.29. 8,698,551 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 12,972,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.33.

Specifically, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 860,730 shares of company stock valued at $570,617,785 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.20.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $293.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.