Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $61.75 and last traded at $61.77. Approximately 2,620,236 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 14,052,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.7 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.61. The company has a market cap of $270.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors 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.