Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $69.70 and last traded at $69.31. 1,718,850 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 13,225,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five research 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $299.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $2,968,637.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 376,096 shares of company stock worth $25,982,352. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,928,441 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after buying an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.