Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares dropped 2.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $66.75 and last traded at $67.84. Approximately 10,086,178 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 13,171,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.6 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.75 and its 200-day moving average is $65.94. 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 company has a market cap of $294.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 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.