Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shot up 0.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $64.48 and last traded at $63.85. 5,859,636 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 13,398,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.54.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,881 shares of company stock worth $10,693,244 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is 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.