Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 1%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares traded up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $61.43 and last traded at $61.13. 2,358,157 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 14,030,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $263.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 134.4% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,015 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,577,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $139,000. Finally, Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently 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.