Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.7%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $66.41 and last traded at $66.56. 2,698,364 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 12,825,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.20.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $288.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 841,588 shares of company stock worth $568,972,027. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,808,056,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,028,000 after acquiring an additional 814,779 shares during the period. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after acquiring an additional 378,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.