Nikolaos Koumettis Sells 55,500 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Nikolaos Koumettis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 26th, Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $65.72 and a 200-day moving average of $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 40,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $558,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $295,000. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $253,000. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.