Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.4% – What’s Next?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.17 and last traded at $69.30. Approximately 1,559,612 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 13,203,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.51 and a 200 day moving average of $65.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 376,096 shares of company stock worth $25,982,352. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,852,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,123,000 after acquiring an additional 70,604 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.4% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 106,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,686,000 after acquiring an additional 12,640 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.9% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 9,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,542 shares during the last quarter. 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.