Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.66 and last traded at $63.65. 2,302,676 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 12,982,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $273.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.85.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.