Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.2%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares rose 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.82 and last traded at $62.49. Approximately 1,996,369 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 13,828,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.25.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.