Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares traded down 0.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $70.54 and last traded at $70.72. 4,896,365 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 15,256,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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 current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.60 and its 200-day moving average is $66.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 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.