Insider Selling: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Insider Sells 19,058 Shares of Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.3 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.44.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KO. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $500,192,000. 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.