Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 1.5%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price dropped 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $70.41 and last traded at $70.61. Approximately 2,321,515 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 13,254,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on KO. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $305.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 92,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,656,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Davis Capital Management boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 28,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 12,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.