Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shot up 0% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $62.65 and last traded at $62.46. 5,828,271 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 13,949,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $269.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.76 and a 200-day moving average of $66.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 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.