Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) fell 0.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $65.08 and last traded at $65.12. 2,135,357 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 13,207,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.39 and a 200 day moving average of $66.21. The company has a market capitalization of $280.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 261,870 shares of company stock valued at $18,256,369. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 356,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,830,000 after buying an additional 11,299 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 308,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.3% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 806,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,341,000 after purchasing an additional 47,593 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,486,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,967,000 after buying an additional 26,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.0% during the first quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.