Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.1% Higher

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares traded up 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $62.97 and last traded at $62.67. 1,603,227 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 13,778,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $270.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the first quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 30,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,851,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.