Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $63.86 and last traded at $63.59. Approximately 4,072,470 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 13,804,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $269.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $65.41 and its 200 day moving average is $66.65.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,027,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,689,000 after purchasing an additional 174,948 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 9,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 19,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $669,000. 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.