Lisa Chang Sells 13,445 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of KO opened at $71.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.