Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.9% – Should You Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $68.54 and last traded at $68.74. 4,002,775 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 13,908,897 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $295.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.85 and its 200 day moving average is $66.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. M1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $782,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,094,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,146,000 after buying an additional 210,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.